Eastern District of Virginia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Former Police Officer Sentenced for Attempting to Support ISISRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former police officer was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and obstruction of justice.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Nicholas Young, 38, of Fairfax, was formerly employed as a police officer with the Metro Transit Police Department. In late July 2016, Young attempted to provide material support and resources to ISIS by purchasing and sending gift card codes that he believed would allow ISIS recruiters to securely communicate with potential ISIS recruits.
Between Dec. 3, 2015, and Dec. 5, 2015, Young attempted to obstruct and impede an official proceeding. Specifically, Young believed an associate of his, who was actually an FBI confidential human source (CHS), had successfully joined ISIS in late 2014. During an FBI interview, Young was told the FBI was investigating the attempt of his associate (the CHS) to join ISIS. Nevertheless, in an attempt to thwart the prosecution of the CHS and himself, Young attempted to deceive investigators as to the destination and purpose of the CHS’s travel.
Additionally, in November 2014, Young attempted to obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding of the Grand Jury by sending a text message to the CHS’s cell phone in order to make it falsely appear to the FBI that Young believed that CHS had left the United States to go on vacation in Turkey. In actuality, Young believed the CHS had gone to Turkey and then to Syria in order to join and fight for ISIS.
In addition to the prison sentence, the Court ordered Young to serve 15 years of supervised release, to begin immediately after he is released from prison.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John C. Demers, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and John T. Gibbs, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Turgeon, and Trial Attorney David P. Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-265.
Former Iraqi Subcontractor Sentenced for Kickbacks ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Romanian citizen was sentenced today to three years in prison for his role in a government contract kickback scheme that caused a loss of more than $3.4 million to the U.S. Department of State.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Emil Popsecu, 49, conspired to violate the Anti-Kickback Act related to the lease of real property in Iraq in 2011.
According to evidence adduced and presented at trial, a United States government contractor headquartered in Virginia and performing services for the U.S. Department of State in Iraq in 2011, was searching for real property to lease. A conspiracy formed between Wesley Aaron Struble, 49, a United States citizen living in Batangas, Phillipines, and Jose Rivera, 57, of Potomac, Maryland, both of whom were working as government contractors in Iraq. Struble approached an Iraqi company and its associates and, along with Rivera, agreed to accept kickbacks in exchange for help in causing the U.S. Department of State contractor to lease property that the Iraqi company controlled.
Emil Popescu was recruited into the conspiracy and hired as the Director of Operations for the Iraqi company to negotiate the lease. After a lease was signed between the U.S. Department of State contractor and the Iraqi company, Popescu withdrew cash from a bank account he opened in Baghdad in his name and made kickback payments directly to Struble and Rivera. Popescu also facilitated other kickback payments by withdrawing money from the bank account and giving it to the Iraqi company knowing that kickback payments were owed to Struble and Rivera.
Prior to Popescu’s trial, Struble and Rivera each pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy and were sentenced to four years and three years in prison, respectively.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Steve A. Linick, the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of State, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian D. Harrison and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly R. Pedersen prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-44 and 1:17-cr-052.
Bank Robber Sentenced for Peninsula RobberiesRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for robbing two banks and a check cashing store.
According to court documents, Robert S. Carpenter, 30, committed a series of robberies in Hampton and Newport News over two weeks in the Fall of 2016. On Aug. 23, 2016, Carpenter robbed Approved Cash Advance on J. Clyde Morris Boulevard in Newport News, implying he had a firearm. A week later, on Sept. 1, 2016, Carpenter robbed the Virginia Educator’s Credit Union on Main Street in Newport News. On Sept. 6, 2016, armed with a gun, Carpenter robbed the Wells Fargo bank on Marketplace Drive in Hampton. Carpenter entered each location masked and demanded money, and ultimately stole more than $21,000. Hampton police located Carpenter after Wells Fargo tellers placed GPS trackers into the stolen money.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, and Anton A. Bell, Hampton Commonwealth’s Attorney made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-32.
Arkansas Man Sentenced to Prison for Developing and Distributing Prolific MalwareRead the Press Release
An Arkansas man was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for aiding and abetting computer intrusions by selling malicious software, or “malware,” to individuals who used the malware to steal sensitive information, surreptitiously activate webcams, and conduct other illegal intrusions.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick for the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew W. Vale of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement.
Taylor Huddleston, 27, of Hot Springs, Arkansas was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Judge O’Grady also ordered the defendant to serve two years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Huddleston pleaded guilty on July 25, 2017.
According to court documents, Huddleston developed, marketed, and distributed two products that were extremely popular with cybercriminals around the world. The first is the “NanoCore RAT,” a type of malware that is used to steal information from victim computers, including sensitive information such as passwords, emails, and instant messages. The NanoCore RAT even allowed users to surreptitiously activate the webcam on the victim computers in order to spy on the victims. Huddleston’s NanoCore RAT was used to infect and attempt to infect tens of thousands of computers. Huddleston’s other product, “Net Seal,” was licensing software that he used to distribute malware for co-conspirators for a fee. For instance, Huddleston used Net Seal to assist Zachary Shames in the distribution of malware to 3,000 people that was in turn used to infect 16,000 computers. In his guilty plea, Huddleston admitted that he intended his products to be used maliciously.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Counsel Ryan K. Dickey of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kellen S. Dwyer of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Jury Convicts Stafford Man of Gun and Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Stafford man last night on charges of unlawfully possessing a firearm while being a convicted domestic batterer, and possessing with the intent to distribute marijuana.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Brandon Locke, 27, was twice convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence: first in 2011 in Georgia, and again in early 2017 in Virginia. Because of this criminal history, federal law prohibited Locke from possessing a firearm. In May 2017, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) learned that Locke had purchased a Ruger pistol two months earlier. When ATF agents then searched Locke’s home with a warrant, they found him with his Ruger pistol, marijuana, and evidence of marijuana distribution.
Locke faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced on May 25. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Washington Field Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III accepted the verdict. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Urban and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya D. Song are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-210.
Operation Hardest Hit Heroin Trafficker Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to 24 years in prison for his role in a massive heroin and fentanyl drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to court documents, on Aug. 14, 2017, over 300 law enforcement agents made arrests and executed search warrants in Virginia, Georgia, and New York. The takedown was the result of a multi-year, multi-jurisdictional, and multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation designated Operation Hardest Hit.
According to court documents, law enforcement began investigating Leroy Perdue and his drug trafficking organization (Perdue DTO) in early 2016 following the heroin overdose death of a young resident of Chesapeake. With the participation of nearly two dozen Confidential Human Sources, law enforcement infiltrated the Perdue DTO and made 10 undercover controlled purchases of heroin and fentanyl. On June 22, the investigative team arrested Rhadu Schoolfield, 33, of Portsmouth, in Norfolk with more than 800 grams of heroin after he returned from a trip to New York. According to the indictment, the Perdue DTO distributed in excess of 100 kilograms of heroin (approximately 250,000 doses) over a 10-year period. Members of the Perdue DTO were responsible for supplying a violent gang based in Portsmouth and continued to sell dangerous narcotics even after learning that their drugs resulted in death.
Schoolfield, who was the chief lieutenant and face of the drug trafficking organization, was sentenced today to 24 years in prison. Schoolfield managed his own network of distributors, traveled between New York and Baltimore to obtain wholesale amounts of raw heroin to bring back for distribution in Hampton Roads, and used his status as a local celebrity and rapper to advertise and recruit for the organization. Those advertising and recruiting efforts included his posting on YouTube the music video for his single, “Dumb Hard,” which lyrics cast his criminal conduct in a positive light.
The dozen individuals below previously pleaded guilty. The leader of the DTO, Leroy Perdue, is scheduled for trial on May 15.
Name, Age
Hometown
Guilty Plea
Sentence
Abraham Atkins, 35
Portsmouth
September 5, 2017
20 Years
Eddie L. Tyson, 46
Portsmouth
September 5, 2017
15 Years
Edward Muckle, 32
Portsmouth
September 5, 2017
9 years
Jamars Cooper, 26
Portsmouth
September 5, 2017
11 years
Victoria Waller, 42
Portsmouth
September 6, 2017
10 years, 6 months
Dominic Diablo Mosley, 35
Portsmouth
September 6, 2017
15 years
Nicholas Godwin, 37
Portsmouth
September 6, 2017
12 years, 4 months
Kevin Lawrence, 37
Portsmouth
September 7, 2017
13 years
Tywon McKelvy, 42
New York
October 3, 2017
March 7
Darion Perdue, 24
Portsmouth
October 17, 2017
March 19
Christina James
New York
October 18, 2017
5 years
Rhadu Schoolfield, 33
Portsmouth
October 18, 2017
24 years
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Division, Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Kelvin L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police, Colonel Gary T. Settle, Virginia State Police Superintendent, and Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Tidewater Violent Crime Task Force, in partnership with HSI’s Norfolk Field Office, ATF, Chesapeake Police Department, Virginia State Police, and the Portsmouth Gang Suppression Unit. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla, Andrew C. Bosse, and William B. Jackson, are prosecuting the case.
This case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The OCDETF program is a federal, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-116.
Man Sentenced for Armed Robberies Targeting Chinese RestaurantsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Suffolk man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for three armed robberies targeting employees of Chinese food restaurants located in Hampton Roads.
According to court documents, Raheem Lorinzo Lacey, 23, served as the get-away driver during three armed robberies that occurred in January and August of 2017. All three robberies followed the same pattern, as Lacey and his co-conspirators waited outside of the restaurants and, under cover of darkness, followed the victims to their home. Lacey served as the getaway driver, while two of his co-conspirators ambushed the victims while waving handguns and demanding money and property. From July 28 through August 14, 2017, Lacey and his co-conspirators robbed six victims and stole at least $4,500 in cash and valuables.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, and Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel T. Young is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-146.
Man Sentenced to Prison for False Distress Call and ThreatsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 56 months in prison for making a false distress call and threats to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Justin P. Stahmer, 39, was convicted by a federal jury on Nov. 13, 2017. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Stahmer made a false distress call on June 20, 2016, while several miles northeast of Cape Henry. Stahmer used the International Distress Frequency, VHF Channel 16, to call “man overboard,” despite being alone on his boat and knowing no one had fallen in the water. For over 45 minutes the Coast Guard sought more information from Stahmer over the radio and launched a full search for a person in the water, including deploying a 45-foot patrol boat, an 87-foot cutter, and a search and rescue helicopter. Once he was found, Stahmer initially denied making any distress call to the Coast Guard and then indicated he called the Coast Guard because he ran out of gas. As the Coast Guard Boarding Officers inspected Stahmer’s vessel, he became belligerent and angry. Ultimately, the Virginia Marine Resource Commission Police arrived and arrested Stahmer for boating under the influence of alcohol. While being transported back to shore, Stahmer began to kick and threaten one of the Coast Guard Boarding Officers, stating that Stahmer would “take him out” if he ever saw the Boarding Officer again.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Marty J. Martinez, Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Gavin prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-123.
12-Time Felon Sentenced for Cocaine and Firearms CrimesRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A man who has been convicted of a dozen prior felonies was sentenced to 18 years in prison today for cocaine and firearms offenses.
According to court documents, Clarence L. Lyons, 44, of Newport News, distributed cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin in Newport News during February 2017. As law enforcement investigated Lyons, they received information that he was usually in possession of a firearm when engaged in narcotics distribution. On Feb. 24, 2017, law enforcement conducted surveillance of Lyons’s hotel room in Newport News, and arrested Lyons as he came out of the hotel room. At the time of his arrest, he was carrying a loaded firearm, marijuana, cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin. Law enforcement searched his hotel room, where they located a syringe and a marijuana smoking device.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-87.
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A Gainesville, Virginia man pleaded guilty today to distribution of child pornography over the Internet.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.
Robert Potts, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia. Sentencing is scheduled for May 25.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Potts was a user of the online peer-to-peer network GigaTribe and, in January 2014, he shared 51 child pornography files with another user of the network. Unbeknownst to Potts, the other user was an undercover law enforcement agent. Forensic examination of media devices seized during a subsequent search warrant executed at Potts’s residence revealed thousands of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. In addition, in 2015 and 2016, Potts continued to view and store child pornography through an account with the cloud-storage service Dropbox.
HSI investigated the case with the assistance of the Northern Virginia/DC Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section is prosecuting the case.
This investigation is a 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.
VDOT Official Sentenced for $11 Million Bribe SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The former superintendent of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Burke Area Headquarters was sentenced today to seven years in prison for his involvement in a bribery scheme involving the awarding of nearly $11 million in snow removal work over the course of more than five years.
According to court documents, Anthony Willie, 55, of Culpeper, along with co-conspirator Kenneth Duane Adams, 42, of Fairfax, were VDOT supervisors at the Burke Area Headquarters (AHQ) and secretly used their official positions to enrich themselves by soliciting and accepting cash bribes in exchange for various favorable official acts, such as awarding lucrative snow removal work to local trucking companies during winter snow storms in the northern Virginia area.
According to court documents, Willie and Adams negotiated bribe agreements with several owners and operators of trucking and snow removal companies seeking snow removal work from the VDOT Burke AHQ, including Rolando Pineda Moran, Shaheen Sariri, and John Williamson. At their core, each agreement stated that the company owners would provide a percentage or a flat rate of their hourly invoices as bribes in the form of cash payments to Willie and Adams, in exchange for being awarded snow removal work and having Willie and Adams sign off on their VDOT invoices. Beginning in the 2012-2013 snow season and continuing through the 2016-2017 snow season, Willie and Adams would often meet the snow plow contractors at local restaurants, grocery stores, and parking lots in Burke and Fairfax and received approximately $440,000 in cash bribes.
According to court documents, from 2011 through 2016, Adams also conspired with Elmer Antonio Mejia by negotiating an unlawful bribery agreement whereby Mejia would sub-contract snow removal work out to Adams’ nominee-owned company, Supreme Landscaping. During this period, Mejia paid Adams approximately $160,000, frequently disguising the payments as pay for snow removal work allegedly performed by Adams’ nominee-owned company.
Additionally, Adams also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. According to court records, while executing a search warrant in November 2015, law enforcement recovered approximately 129 grams of cocaine and related drug paraphernalia at Adams’ residence. Adams also admitted to previously distributing cocaine to others, including Willie and several of his other colleagues at VDOT, and to obtaining cocaine from a relative of one of his VDOT co-workers.
Name
Age, Hometown
Pleaded Guilty to
Sentencing Date and Max Penalty
Anthony Willie
55, Culpeper
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Mail and Wire Fraud
84 months
Kenneth Duane Adams
42, Fairfax
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Mail and Wire Fraud; Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine
64 months
Rolando Pineda Moran
46, Alexandria
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Mail Fraud
6 months
Shaheen Sariri
31, Fairfax
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Mail Fraud
Max 20 years on March 9
Elmer Mejia
50, Aldie
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Mail Fraud
6 months
John Williamson
51, Springfield
Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud
90 days
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly R. Pedersen and Samantha P. Bateman prosecuted the case.
This case involved a joint investigation by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Virginia State Police, and Fairfax County Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Office of Assurance and Compliance.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-188.
Alexandria Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.
According to court documents, Nigel Anthony Forde, 33, received 15 multi-pound shipments containing cocaine from December 2016 until his arrest on Aug. 28, 2017. Upon his arrest, law enforcement seized a package addressed to his residence and seized approximately three kilograms of cocaine. During a subsequent search of Forde’s Alexandria residence, law enforcement seized a loaded firearm, approximately a quarter of kilogram of cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and $290,975 in cash.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Michael L. Brown, Alexandria Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carina A. Cuellar prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-287.
Former Treasurer of Labor Union Sentenced for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth woman was sentenced today to 14 months in prison for an embezzlement scheme that nearly wiped out an account used to assist sick or distressed members of a local labor union.
According to court documents, Tamika Bullock, 39, was appointed in September 2015 to serve as the Secretary-Treasurer of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 684. The union maintains a “sick and distressed” account, which is funded entirely by voluntary contributions and is solely used to assist union members who are sick or otherwise out of work. Between January 2016 and October 2016, Bullock embezzled $24,600 from the union, with over $21,400 being stolen from the “sick and distressed” account. As Secretary-Treasurer, Bullock provided financial reports at the monthly meeting of the union membership and made false statements about the balance in the account in order to conceal her embezzlement, reporting balances up to $15,000 higher than the actual balance. She used the $24,600 she embezzled for her own personal benefit, including paying for a cruise.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Mark Wheeler, District Director of the Washington District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salsbury prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-97.
Former Navy SEAL Sentenced for Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A former U.S. Navy SEAL was sentenced today to 27 years in prison, 25 years of supervised release, and fined $10,000 for producing images of child sexual abuse.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, the investigation into Gregory Kyle Seerden, 32, began after a woman reported to base security at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach that Seerden sexually assaulted her. After NCIS agents seized and searched Seerden’s iPhone, a digital forensic examiner discovered several images of child pornography. Further analysis confirmed 78 images and four videos of child pornography. Agents later learned that Seerden took the videos with his iPhone, and that the minor victim was a five year-old child known to Seerden. The videos graphically depict Seerden sexually abusing the child while the child sleeps.
“Gregory Seerden victimized a child and used mobile technology to memorialize sexually explicit videos,” said Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “As this prosecution makes clear, the United States will seek to hold accountable anyone who sexually exploits our most vulnerable citizens.”
Seerden is also charged in San Diego for conduct stemming from the summer of 2014. That case is a reopening of a 2014 NCIS investigation that did not result in prosecution at the time. As described in court documents, the allegations in that case involve another minor known to Seerden, and the recording of sexual abuse involving the child on an iPhone, and are thus strikingly similar to the acts Seerden pleaded guilty to here.
“Instead of being a protector, Seerden was a predator who attacked a sleeping five year old child,” said Cliff Everton, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office. “He is the antithesis of every value the military services hold dear.”
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Cliff Everton, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Layne, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources” for more information about Internet safety education.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-67.
Former City of Hampton Employee Pleads Guilty to Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A former City of Hampton employee pleaded guilty today to distribution of child pornography.
According to court documents, Robert Dobbins, 36, of Hampton, law enforcement received information from a foreign law enforcement agency regarding the user “DEATHLYROSE55” on Website A. In September, the user responded to a foreign law enforcement officer working in an undercover capacity and indicated that he had committed a hands on offense against a child. He also sent the investigator a mega link, which contained child pornography. Law enforcement linked the email address to a residence in Hampton, and determined that Dobbins was previously convicted of receipt and possession of child pornography in January 2005, while he was employed by the U.S. Navy.
During the execution of a federal search warrant, Dobbins, who at the time was a city of Hampton employee, acknowledged accessing child pornography from his city-issued Samsung smartphone using the internet. Dobbins admitted to agents that he cut and pasted photographs from Facebook of his friends’ daughters and re-posted them on his Website A account, “DEATHLYROSE55.” Dobbins also stated that he “traded” links to child pornography images and videos with other individuals who he met online utilizing Website A.
Dobbins pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on June 7. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dobbins in prison if convicted. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, made the announcement after the guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan M. Cowles is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources” for more information about Internet safety education.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-129.
Ashburn Woman Arrested for $5 Million Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Ashburn woman was arrested today on charges of orchestrating a multi-year loan fraud scheme causing approximately $5 million in losses to dozens of victims.
According to allegations in the complaint affidavit, Keisha L. Williams, 42, solicited over $5 million from individual victim lenders by telling them that she needed emergency funding to get software that she had purchased out of “escrow” in Austria. In fact, Williams spent the vast majority of victims’ money on personal expenditures, including approximately $1 million on luxury travel and $1 million on shopping and retail purchases at places like Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.
Williams has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Grace L. Hill is prosecuting the case.
Individuals who believe they may be a victim of this fraud are encouraged to call the Eastern District of Virginia Victim/Witness Coordinators at 1-800-221-6538.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-mj-68.
A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Man Arrested for “Ponzi” Style Investment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fairfax man was arrested today on charges of orchestrating a multi-year investment fraud scheme causing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to dozens of victims.
According to allegations in the complaint, Amrit Jaswant Singh Chahal, 30, operated an investment fraud scheme through The Kane Capital Investment Group, LLC (Kane Capital), a company he established and operated. Chahal executed this fraud through a “Ponzi” scheme, whereby funds solicited from new investors were used to pay disbursements to old investors, without disclosing this fact to his investors.
According to allegations in the complaint, Chahal falsely represented that Kane Capital had earned returns of roughly 28 to 34 percent annually, when in fact, Chahal had suffered substantial losses in managing investors’ funds. The complaint further alleges that Chahal created falsified brokerage statements to conceal the losses he had sustained, opened a bank account in the name of an investor without that investor’s knowledge or consent, and siphoned off some of his investors’ funds by transferring the money to accounts he controlled or by spending the funds on personal items.
The criminal complaint charging Chahal with wire fraud was unsealed today. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Jamar K. Walker are prosecuting the case.
Individuals who believe they may be a victim of this fraud are encouraged to call the Eastern District of Virginia Victim/Witness Coordinators at 1-800-221-6538.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-MJ-70.
A complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Fifth Member of Drug Conspiracy Sentenced to 20 YearsRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport man was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
According to court documents, Marcus Davis, 37, was an associate of Marvin O’Neal Carter, the former leader of a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy who was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Nov. 2, 2017. Davis sold heroin from Carter’s 39th Street garage and helped Carter conceal the delivery of 54 kilograms of cocaine on October 20, 2016. He also obstructed the federal drug investigation by writing a letter to an uncharged member of the conspiracy after Davis met with federal agents in May, 2017.
Marvin O’Neal Carter, 50, along with Michael Stephen Kuna, 42, of Canada, and brothers Hilario Rodriguez, 50, and Daniel Rodriguez, 49, both of California, were charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Carter was also charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and maintaining a drug involved premises.
All five members of the drug trafficking conspiracy have been convicted and sentenced:
Defendant
Sentencing Date
Total Sentence
Marcus Davis
Feb. 14, 2018
240 months
Marvin Carter
Nov. 7, 2017
324 months
Michael Kuna
Oct. 19, 2017
144 months
Daniel Rodriguez
July 20, 2017
120 months
Hilario Rodriguez
July 12, 2017
162 months
According to court documents, agents observed the arrival of a tractor-trailer at a garage leased by Carter. With the assistance of Michael Kuna, who stopped traffic and directed the driver, the trailer was off-loaded next to the garage. Agents observed Daniel and Hilario Rodriguez arrive and park in Carter’s garage parking lot. The men then worked together to unload cocaine from a hidden compartment located underneath the trailer. A short time later, Kuna left and returned with two large duffel bags which were taken underneath the trailer. Kuna left the location after loading the now-empty duffel bags into a vehicle. Law enforcement agents conducted a traffic stop on Kuna and located the two duffle bags which smelled of bulk currency. As Kuna was being detained, agents executed two federal search warrants on the garage and trailer. During the search, approximately 54 kilograms of cocaine and 100 bundles of cash in $5,000 to $10,000 stacks, totaling nearly $1 million, were recovered. The search of the garage also led to the recovery of a firearm, a quantity of heroin and more cocaine, in addition to approximately $49,000 in cash from a safe.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Michael C. Grinstead, Acting Chief of Newport News Police, Terry L. Sult, Chief of Hampton Police Division, and Anton A. Bell, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Hampton, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-76.
Man Sentenced for Throwing Molotov Cocktails at Apartment BuildingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for arson after throwing Molotov cocktails and setting fire to an apartment building in Alexandria in June 2016.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Josepha Kasai, 24, smashed a Molotov cocktail at the door of a third floor apartment unit, setting fire to the doorway and trapping nine individuals on the third floor. Kasai then went outside and threw another Molotov cocktail at the third floor apartment unit, breaking through the bedroom window. The entire building was evacuated due to the fire. A victim inside the third floor apartment jumped from his balcony and Kasai chased the victim with what appeared to be a knife. After Kasai’s arrest, he informed law enforcement he intended to kill the victim who jumped from the balcony and claimed the victim had previously stolen his iPhone.
Kasai was found guilty by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga after a bench trial on Oct. 25, 2017.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, Robert C. Dubé, Chief of Alexandria Fire Department, and Michael L. Brown, Chief of Alexandria Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by Judge Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen C. Cain and Nicholas U. Murphy II prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-268.
Man Sentenced for Stealing Identity of Deceased ChildRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Henrico man was sentenced today to four years in prison for stealing the identity of a deceased child, stealing approximately $33,000 from his employer, and unlawfully purchasing a firearm.
According to court documents, in 2013, Shawn D. Gover, 47, changed his name to Aaron Garth Roberts, who was a born in 1974 in Denton, Texas, but died as a young child. In an attempt to hide a previous felony conviction, Gover also stole the social security number and date of birth of Roberts.
In March 2016, using the personal identifying information of Roberts, Gover was hired as the Director of Finance for the Independence Golf Club in Powhatan. In that position, he had control over financial records, including the operating account checkbook and corporate credit card. From the fall of 2016 to the summer of 2017, Gover stole approximately $33,557 from Independence Golf Club.
Additionally, on Nov. 13, 2016, using the name, social security number and date of birth of Roberts, Gover purchased a Sig Sauer .45 semiautomatic pistol. Having been previously convicted of felony Grand Theft and sentenced to 16 months in prison, Gover was prohibited from lawfully possessing a firearm.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, and Thomas L. Chittum, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-133.
Former Owner of Investment Firms Sentenced for $10 Million FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Blackstone man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for his role in an investment fraud scheme that caused more than $10 million in losses to over 50 investors.
According to court documents, Sherman Carl Vaughn, 46, and co-conspirator Merrill Robertson, Jr., 38, of Chesterfield, started Cavalier Union Investments, LLC in 2009. From 2009-2016, Vaughn and Robertson solicited individuals to invest money in private investment funds that they managed, as well as distinct investment opportunities that they proposed. Robertson identified potential investors through various contacts; including contacts he developed playing football at Fork Union Military Academy, the University of Virginia, and the National Football League, while Vaughn focused on developing investment opportunities.
According to the statement of facts, Vaughn and Robertson led individuals to believe they were experienced investment advisors, and that they employed other experienced investment advisors to manage their investment funds. For example, Vaughn represented that he was a long-time investor and philanthropist with extensive experience in business and real estate. In fact, Vaughn filed for personal bankruptcy four times, including twice during the time he was soliciting investors for Cavalier.
As a result of this conspiracy, Vaughn and Robertson fraudulently obtained more than $10 million from over 50 investors, spending much of the money on their own personal living expenses, including mortgage and car payments, school tuitions, spa visits, restaurants, department stores, and vacations.
On Aug. 24, 2017, a federal jury convicted Robertson of fifteen offenses, including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and two counts of money laundering. Robertson was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2017, to 40 years in prison.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Kimberly Lappin, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after the sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Lee Martin and Stephen E. Anthony.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission Division of Securities and Retail Franchising assisted with the investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-33.
Woman Faked Death in Cross-Country Luxury Vehicle Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Portsmouth woman who faked her own death in connection with an elaborate bank fraud scheme was sentenced today to four years in prison.
According to court documents, Alexandra Hatcher, 50, conspired with her husband, Albert Hatcher Jr., 49, to collect on life insurance policies the two had obtained to insure Hatcher’s life. After traveling to Washington state and changing her legal name in August 2015, Hatcher and her husband submitted false death claims on at least two of these policies. In support of these claims, Hatcher created fake death certificates and published a death notice in the Daily Press. After insurers denied their claims, Hatcher and her husband undertook a cross-country fraud scheme through which they fraudulently obtained at least 20 new and newer-used luxury vehicles by presenting worthless and counterfeit checks and forged documents to car dealerships in several states. Hatcher and her husband retitled these vehicles and then used them as collateral for loans and other vehicles. The two also resold vehicles to other dealerships for cash. Hatcher used the legal name she adopted just prior to faking her death to purchase, title, and resell vehicles in furtherance of the scheme.
The Hatcher’s each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possessing and uttering a counterfeit security of an organization, and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Albert Hatcher was sentenced to four years in prison on January 22 for his role in the scheme.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-48.
Virginia Man Convicted of Receiving Child Pornography on Tor Network Forum for Child PredatorsRead the Press Release
A Purcellville, Virginia man who was a member of a website dedicated to the advertising and sharing of child pornography on an online anonymous network pleaded guilty today to receipt of child pornography.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick of the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement.
Nikolai Bosyk, 40, was charged on Oct. 17, 2017, and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia. Sentencing is scheduled for May 4.
According to admissions made in conjunction with the guilty plea, Bosyk was a member of an online bulletin board that operated on an anonymous online network and was dedicated to the sharing of child pornography. He downloaded child pornography, from that website and other places on the Internet. A forensic review of his laptop discovered thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and the Northern Virginia-Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
CEOS Trial Attorney Lauren E. Britsch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Smith III of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.
ISIS Supporter Sentenced to Prison for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
Casey Charles Spain, 29, of Richmond, Virginia, who is a previously convicted felon and supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, was sentenced today to the statutory maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment, for being a felon in possession of a firearm less than three weeks after he was released from prison.
Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Edward C. O’Callaghan, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Lee of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office made the announcement. The sentence was issued by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.
According to court documents and statements made in court proceedings, Spain was in prison for over seven years after being convicted for abducting a 15-year-old girl with the intent to rape her. Separate and apart from this incident, Spain previously served time in prison for stabbing an individual with a sword. During his most recent period in prison, Spain became radicalized and swore a pledge of loyalty, commonly known as bayat, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. Spain also obtained a tattoo of the ISIS flag on his back, and repeatedly expressed a desire to engage in acts of violence. Spain was reportedly fixated on attacking a target such as the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, and was excited about potentially attacking police stations, as well as an armory in Richmond.
After Spain was released from prison on Aug. 11, 2017, he discussed on recorded telephone calls with still-incarcerated prisoners his desire to travel overseas and join ISIS. The FBI began conducting surveillance of Spain immediately upon his release, including making covert contact with him using FBI undercover employees (UCE) and a Confidential Human Source (CHS). Spain spoke on multiple occasions to the CHS about his strong desire to obtain a firearm. During that same time period, Spain established a Facebook account to speak with individuals located overseas about ISIS and his desire serve as a mujahid (fighter) for the terrorist organization.
During a meeting on Aug. 30, 2017, with the CHS and a UCE, Spain described his intention to purchase a semiautomatic handgun with a 50-round barrel canister, and that he had made arrangements to buy the handgun from an individual online. Given Spain’s criminal history, his desire to obtain a firearm, and his apparent impatience to obtain one, the CHS — as part of a controlled FBI undercover operation — offered to provide Spain what the CHS described as his own personal weapon. In reality, the firearm, which was a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun, was the property of the FBI that had been rendered inert for safety reasons.
The next day, as part of the undercover operation, the CHS and UCE met Spain outside of his Richmond residence. The CHS provided Spain the Glock handgun, at which point members of the FBI Richmond SWAT team moved in to arrest Spain. Spain initially attempted to escape arrest by running and jumping a nearby fence, but FBI SWAT members pursued and quickly apprehended him.
Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hood prosecuted the case.
ISIS Supporter Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A man who is a previously convicted felon and supporter of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), was sentenced today to the statutory of maximum of 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm less than three weeks after he was released from prison.
According to court documents and statements made in court proceedings, Casey Charles Spain, 29, of Richmond, was in prison for over seven years after being convicted for abducting a 15-year-old girl with the intent to rape her. Separate and apart from this incident, Spain previously served time in prison for stabbing an individual with a sword. During his most recent period in prison, Spain became radicalized and swore a pledge of loyalty, commonly known as bayat, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS. Spain also obtained a tattoo of the ISIS flag on his back, and repeatedly expressed a desire to engage in acts of violence. Spain was reportedly fixated on attacking a target such as the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, and was excited about potentially attacking police stations, as well as an armory in Richmond.
After Spain was released from prison on Aug. 11, 2017, he discussed on recorded telephone calls with still-incarcerated prisoners his desire to travel overseas and join ISIS. The FBI began conducting surveillance of Spain immediately upon his release, including making covert contact with him using FBI undercover employees (UCE) and a Confidential Human Source (CHS). Spain spoke on multiple occasions to the CHS about his strong desire to obtain a firearm. During that same time period, Spain established a Facebook account to speak with individuals located overseas about ISIS and his desire serve as a mujahid (fighter) for the terrorist organization.
During a meeting on Aug. 30, 2017, with the CHS and a UCE, Spain described his intention to purchase a semiautomatic handgun with a 50-round barrel canister, and that he had made arrangements to buy the handgun from an individual online. Given Spain’s criminal history, his desire to obtain a firearm, and his apparent impatience to obtain one, the CHS—as part of a controlled FBI undercover operation—offered to provide Spain what the CHS described as his own personal weapon. In reality, the firearm, which was a 9mm Glock semiautomatic handgun, was the property of the FBI that had been rendered inert for safety reasons.
The next day, as part of the undercover operation, the CHS and UCE met Spain outside of his Richmond residence. The CHS provided Spain the Glock handgun, at which point members of the FBI Richmond SWAT team moved in to arrest Spain. Spain initially attempted to escape arrest by running and jumping a nearby fence, but FBI SWAT members pursued and quickly apprehended him.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Edward C. O’Callaghan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hood prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-123.
Woman Pleads Guilty to Using Stolen IDs to Commit Bank FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland woman pleaded guilty today to her involvement in an identity theft and bank fraud scheme involving U.S. Treasury checks.
According to court documents, Vanetra Brown, 25, of Capitol Heights, impersonated identity theft victims at local commercial banks in order to cash stolen treasury checks. Brown used false driver’s licenses, false social security numbers, and other fraudulent means to dupe banks in Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. into negotiating the stolen checks. The scheme resulted in a loss of $32,705.
Brown pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and faces a maximum of 30 years in prison when sentenced on June 8. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Eric M. Thorson, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Treasury, Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel Smith III and Grace L. Hill are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-14.
Man Sentenced for ID Theft and Credit Card FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced today to four years in prison for his role in a credit card fraud and identity theft scheme that stole over 5,000 credit card numbers and resulted in a loss of over $1.5 million.
According to court documents, Alvin Serry, aka Blue, 24, was part of a years-long conspiracy that committed credit card fraud throughout Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Members of the conspiracy would purchase stolen credit card numbers belonging to Americans from foreign-based criminal websites. Serry would then encode the stolen credit card numbers onto physical cards, provide those cards to a crew of individuals, and direct them to use the cards to make fraudulent purchases at retail stores using the credit card numbers of unsuspecting victims. Serry was twice caught in possession of stolen credit cards and thousands of dollars in cash, and is the fourth member of the conspiracy to be sentenced. Moussa Sy, Musa Kamara, and Maxx Tapp received sentences of 60, 37, and 12 months, respectively, for their roles in the scheme.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, M. Jay Farr, Chief of Arlington County Police, and Timothy J. Altomare, Chief of Anne Arundel County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander P. Berrang and Kellen S. Dwyer prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-82.
Man Who Wanted to Commit Jihad Attempted to Join U.S. MilitaryRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Williamsburg man who told an undercover agent that he wanted to commit jihad, pleaded guilty today to passport fraud and to making false statements in his application to join the United States military.
According to court documents, Shivam Patel, 28, was working in China in the summer of 2016 when he flew to the Kingdom of Jordan, was arrested, detained, and then returned to the United States. Patel is alleged to have told an undercover agent and a confidential source that he wanted to join a “Muslim army” and commit jihad. After returning to the United States, he applied to join the Army and Air Force. When asked about his prior foreign travel as part of his applications, Patel did not disclose his trips to China or Jordan. After he was asked to show an Army recruiter his passport, which would have revealed his prior travel to the recruiter, he filed an application for a new passport, falsely claiming that he had accidentally thrown his old passport away. Special agents from the FBI recovered that passport, which documented his undisclosed travel, when they arrested him in July 2017.
Patel pleaded guilty to false statements and passport application fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison when sentenced on June 4. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Edward C. O’Callaghan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew C. Bosse and Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-120.
Man Sentenced for Receiving Images of Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Henrico man was sentenced today to eight years in prison and 10 years of supervised release for receiving images of child sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Charles Tiffit Ellis, Jr., 37, responded to an ad placed on Craigslist by an undercover officer, which read in part, “Looking to meet other taboo Dads/moms to chat n more….” Ellis communicated with the undercover via Kik Messenger and after confirming that they were on the same page regarding the term “taboo,” Ellis sent the undercover officer links to his Dropbox account for several child pornography videos involving prepubescent children. Ellis also sent the undercover a video of someone Ellis claimed was a 14-year-old girl he met online and filmed performing oral sex on him. A search warrant on Ellis’s home yielded corroborating evidence on his phone.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Members of FBI Richmond’s Child Exploitation Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Hood prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources” for more information about Internet safety education.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-108.
Man Indicted for Obstructing Terrorism InvestigationRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Sterling man with obstructing a terrorism investigation.
According to allegations in the indictment, Sean Andrew Duncan, 21, altered, destroyed, mutilated, concealed, and covered up a thumb drive and memory chip with the intent to impede and obstruct an FBI investigation.
According to the complaint, in February 2016, the FBI received information from one of Duncan’s relatives that Duncan had converted to Islam, may have been radicalized, and voiced his approval of westerners being beheaded in the Middle East. Later in February 2016, Duncan was denied entry into Turkey and returned to the United States. Upon his return, Duncan deleted his Facebook account and changed his phone number.
In June 2017, the FBI learned that Duncan had been in contact with an individual who had been detained in a foreign country for actively planning to travel to join ISIS. In or around February 2015, Duncan told the individual that he wanted to make “hijrah” to Syria and that he wanted her to go with him. Around this same time, the individual told Duncan she was upset at work due to non-Muslim women wearing shorts that exposed their bodies. Duncan replied with a link to a website, and a message saying she could “try this.” The link contained pictures and instructions on how to make weapons and bombs. The link was to an article titled, “How to build a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom” from Inspire magazine. In December 2016, Duncan contacted the individual and told her that he had come back from Turkey, where he and his wife were deported back to the United States. Duncan said he thought the FBI was monitoring him.
In or around October 2017, law enforcement authorities of a foreign government arrested one of their citizens (Recruiter 1) for inciting rebellion. Recruiter 1 is an ISIS recruiter who is suspected of drawing foreign fighters from around the world to Recruiter 1’s home country using social media. Recruiter 1 kept names and telephone numbers of individuals who had requested to join her Telegram, Facebook, or other social media and/or communication application groups. Recruiter 1’s notes included a handwritten name appearing to be “Sean Ibn Gary Duncan,” with Duncan’s known previous phone number and known previous mobile messaging account.
On or about Oct. 6, 2017, the Allegheny County Police Department (ACPD) provided a copy of Duncan’s phone to the FBI. ACPD had obtained this copy during an investigation surrounding the recent death of Duncan’s infant child (the cause of death in the autopsy was inconclusive). The FBI’s review of Duncan’s imaged phone revealed numerous internet searches for ISIS-related material, ISIS attacks, weapons, body armor, surveillance and defense tactics, and paintball venues in the Pennsylvania area from in or around March 2017 to June 2017.
On December 29, 2017, FBI agents executed the search warrant at Duncan’s residence. Upon execution of the warrant, the agents knocked on the door, identified themselves as FBI, and announced that they were there to execute a search warrant. Receiving no response, the agents knocked and announced their presence again, but received no response again. The agents then forcibly opened the door, again identified themselves as FBI, and stated that they were there to execute a search warrant.
Moments before the FBI agents entered the residence through the front door, Duncan ran out the back door, barefoot, and with something clenched in his fist. FBI agents guarding the back door yelled at Duncan to stop. Before stopping, Duncan threw a plastic baggie over the heads of the agents. FBI agents recovered the baggie thrown by Duncan. The baggie was a clear plastic Ziploc bag, containing a memory chip from a thumb drive that had been snapped into pieces, and placed in a liquid substance that produced frothy white bubbles. Upon searching Duncan, agents recovered a broken casing for a thumb drive from Duncan’s pants pocket.
Duncan has been charged with obstruction of justice, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was returned. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon D. Kromberg and Colleen E. Garcia are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-19.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking a Minor by ForceRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington, D.C., man pleaded guilty today to forcibly sex trafficking a minor.
According to court documents, Justin Shayne Robinson, 26, lured the 16-year-old victim to a motel in northern Virginia. Once the minor victim arrived, Robinson directed photos to be taken of the minor, and created online advertisements for commercial sex acts with the minor. Robinson and his co-conspirator, Markus Jakeem Plummer, 27, of Woodbridge, then prostituted the minor over a period of roughly a week. Robinson and Plummer took all the proceeds of the minor’s commercial sex acts for their own benefit. Robinson and Plummer kept watch over the minor to ensure that she continued to see clients and was unable to escape. Robinson used violence to force the victim to continue working for him, including choking her, leaving medically documented bruising on her leg and neck.
Robinson pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, or coercion, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison when sentenced on April 27. Plummer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sex traffic a minor by force, fraud or coercion on January 12, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on April 13.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge, Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell is prosecuting the case.
The Fairfax County Police Department and Prince William County Police Department provided significant assistance during this investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-310.
Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Elderly in Magazine ScamRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arizona man pleaded guilty today to his role in a conspiracy that defrauded elderly victims, including several Virginia residents, out of nearly $500,000.
According to court documents, Raheem Oliver, 38, operated a magazine subscription renewal fraud scam that began when he or one of his associates contacted magazine subscribers and offered to renew their subscriptions over the phone. When a subscriber agreed, Oliver would double or triple-bill their accounts, without ever actually renewing their subscriptions as promised. Throughout this process, Oliver also identified victims who were particularly vulnerable to such a scam, primarily including elderly individuals. Oliver targeted those vulnerable victims with threatening phone calls, falsely representing that the victims needed to pay thousands of dollars at a time for purported renewal fees, past-due balances, fines, attorneys’ fees and other legal fees, and court costs. He threatened victims with legal action, often including arrest, if they did not make the payments as requested, and thereby convinced victims to mail checks and wire money to him and his associates in Arizona.
Oliver victimized approximately 250 individuals in total, including a 94-year-old resident of Alexandria and an 84-year-old resident of Painter who suffers from Alzheimer’s.
Oliver pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on June 22. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Michael L. Brown, Alexandria Chief of Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Bateman is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-9.
Former Virginia Attorney Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison for Laundering and Attempting to Launder over $2 MillionRead the Press Release
A former Vienna, Virginia attorney was sentenced today to 84 months in prison for conspiring to launder over $2 million dollars derived from a business email compromise scheme and for attempting to launder funds he believed to be the proceeds of smuggling illegal aliens into the United States and trafficking firearms in Africa.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy Doherty-McCormick of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after Ho was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Raymond Juiwen Ho, 48, pleaded guilty on Oct. 19, 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of money laundering. According to court documents, from at least March 2013 to February 2017, Ho engaged in a large-scale money laundering scheme that resulted in millions of dollars being moved through bank accounts (some of which were attorney trust accounts) that Ho or his co-conspirators controlled. Specifically, between July and November 2014, Ho participated in a conspiracy in which co-conspirators sent emails from compromised or imitation accounts that duped victims into transferring money to accounts controlled by Ho and others. Ho then laundered these stolen funds, moving them through and to accounts located in the United States and abroad. Ho, who recruited others to aid his laundering activities, laundered over $2 million in unlawfully obtained funds.
Ho engaged in his money laundering business despite multiple instances of banks closing his accounts due to fraud and inquires by law enforcement. Eventually, in November 2015, HSI initiated an operation in which undercover HSI agents sought Ho’s assistance in moving the proceeds of human smuggling and firearms trafficking between bank accounts located in the United States and overseas. Ho engaged in four such transactions between December 2015 and June 2016, involving over $175,000 that he believed were the proceeds of the illegal smuggling and firearms trafficking activity.
Throughout the criminal conduct described above, Ho was a practicing attorney for an intellectual property law firm based in Washington, D.C. As part of this case, he has surrendered his bar licenses from Georgia and the District of Columbia.
The investigation was conducted by HSI Washington, DC. Senior Counsels Ryan K. Dickey and James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Berrang of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kendrack D. Lewis and Former Trial Attorney Elizabeth Wright of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section investigated and prosecuted the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Nguyen and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph V. Longobardo provided assistance investigating the case.
Former Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
**Video entered into the public record at sentencing will be available at: https://www.dvidshub.net/ice
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A former attorney was sentenced today to seven years in prison for conspiring to launder over $2 million dollars derived from a business email compromise scheme and for attempting to launder funds he believed to be the proceeds of smuggling illegal aliens into the United States and trafficking firearms in Africa.
According to court documents, from at least March 2013 to February 2017, Raymond Juiwen Ho, 48, of Vienna, engaged in a large-scale money laundering scheme that resulted in millions of dollars being moved through bank accounts (some of which were attorney trust accounts) that Ho or his co-conspirators controlled. Specifically, between July and November 2014, Ho participated in a conspiracy in which co-conspirators sent emails from compromised or imitation accounts that duped victims into transferring money to accounts controlled by Ho and others. Ho then laundered these stolen funds, moving them through and to accounts located in the United States and abroad. Ho, who recruited others to aid his laundering activities, laundered over $2 million in unlawfully obtained funds.
Ho engaged in his money laundering business despite multiple instances of banks closing his accounts due to fraud and inquiries by law enforcement. Eventually, in November 2015, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) initiated an operation in which undercover HSI agents sought Ho’s assistance in moving the proceeds of human smuggling and firearms trafficking between bank accounts located in the United States and overseas. Ho engaged in four such transactions between December 2015 and June 2016, involving over $175,000 that he believed were the proceeds of the illegal smuggling and trafficking activity.
Throughout the criminal conduct described above, Ho was a practicing attorney for an intellectual property law firm based in Washington, D.C. As part of this case, he has surrendered his bar licenses from Georgia and the District of Columbia.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John P. Cronan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Patrick J. Lechleitner, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) HSI Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Berrang, Senior Counsels Ryan K. Dickey and James S. Yoon of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Trial Attorney Kendrack D. Lewis and Former Trial Attorney Elizabeth Wright of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section investigated and prosecuted the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Nguyen and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph V. Longobardo provided assistance investigating the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-215.
Jury Convicts Former Insurance Agent of Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted an Ashburn woman today on charges of engaging in a fraud scheme that resulted in an attempted loss of approximately $182,000.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Semyya Cunningham, 40, was an agent and licensed representative of the Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio, a company that issued life and other forms of insurance. In April 2014, Cunningham sold a life insurance policy to her close friend (identified in court records as Victim A). The policy included an accelerated death benefit option that permitted the holder, in the event he or she were ever diagnosed with a terminal illness, of claiming the proceeds before death. In July 2014, Victim A was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Shortly thereafter, Cunningham engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain the proceeds of the insurance policy for herself. Cunningham changed all of the contact information on the policy to her information, changed the beneficiaries on the policy from Victim A’s family members to friends of hers, and submitted a claim for the accelerated death benefit without Victim A’s knowledge or consent. Western Reserve paid the claim, and because the contact info had been changed to Cunningham’s information, the check was mailed to Cunningham’s residence. Cunningham then deposited the money into her own account, and then transferred the bulk of the money through several accounts in an apparent attempt to prevent the transaction from being reversed.
Cunningham faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 18th. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Jay N. Lerner, Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC-OIG), made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Grace L. Hill are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-177.
Men Sentenced for Recruiting Homeless to Cash Counterfeit ChecksRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Three Georgia men have been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for recruiting individuals from local homeless shelters to cash counterfeit business checks.
Roderick Saunders, 30, of Atlanta, was sentenced today to 42 months, and Ka-Aron Powell, 26, of Stone Mountain, was sentenced to 65 months. Yumahnn Quashawn Brown, 30, of Atlanta, was sentenced to 75 months in prison on May 24, 2017.
According to their plea documents, Brown, Powell, and Saunders traveled from Georgia to Virginia and other states several times between August 2015 and August 2016, to steal mail, including business checks, from industrial parks and to cash counterfeit checks that had been made using the stolen checks as templates. During these trips, Brown and Powell traveled to homeless shelters, where Brown solicited individuals to perform construction and other day jobs. Brown and Powell then provided the recruits with clothing, food, cigarettes, and alcohol while transporting them to the other areas, often more than an hour away from their respective shelters. During these trips, Brown sent information about the recruited individuals to Saunders and other conspirators, who were transporting counterfeit checks and check-making tools in separate cars. These conspirators made the counterfeit checks payable to the homeless recruits in various amounts and provided them to Brown upon arrival in the targeted areas. Brown then told the homeless recruits that they would be cashing checks at nearby banks instead of performing the jobs he had described. In Virginia alone, the conspirators caused 30 homeless people to cash 70 counterfeit checks drawn on accounts belonging to 30 local businesses. The total value of these counterfeit checks was nearly $160,000.
Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Robert B. Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencings by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin C. Gratton prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated through the U.S. Postal Inspection Services' White Collar Crimes Financial Task Force.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-75.
Man Convicted of Armed Robberies, CarjackingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Washington, D.C. man today for his participation in three armed robberies and an armed carjacking.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Lamont Kortez Gaines, 28, participated in the armed robbery of an Advance America Cash Advance store in Alexandria and two 7-Eleven convenience stores in Arlington. In addition, Gaines participated in an armed carjacking in Alexandria. Three of Gaines’ co-conspirators—Andrew Bernard Duncan, 27, Desmar Rashad Gayles, 25, and Anton Durrell Harris, 27, all of Washington, D.C.—previously pleaded guilty to charges of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence.
Gaines was convicted of conspiring to obstruct commerce by robbery, obstructing commerce by robbery, carjacking, brandishing a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He faces up to life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 82 years in prison when sentenced on April 27. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Michael L. Brown, Alexandria Chief of Police, Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, M. Jay Farr, Arlington County Chief of Police, Henry P. Stawinski III, Chief of Prince George’s County Police, and Peter Newsham, Chief of Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Blanchard and Rebeca H. Bellows are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-106.
Ringleader Sentenced in Credit Card Fraud and ID Theft SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to nine years in prison for his role as a ringleader in a credit card fraud and identity theft scheme.
According to court documents, Travon Williams, 33, organized and led a conspiracy where over two and a half years, members purchased thousands of stolen credit and debit card numbers from blackmarket websites, encoded those stolen numbers onto fraudulent credit cards, and then used those cards to buy merchandise including gift cards and cartons of cigarettes.
During the conspiracy, the group made hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from selling cigarette cartons to buyers from New York City, who drove down to Northern Virginia to transport the cigarettes. Williams himself obtained $415,000 in proceeds.
Williams is one of 12 defendants who was arrested in this case in August 2017, all of whom have pleaded guilty for their roles in this scheme. Co-defendant Rodriguez Norman has also pleaded guilty to participating in an organized dog-fighting conspiracy. Williams is the sixth defendant to be sentenced, as shown below:
Name, Age
Hometown
Convictions
Sentence
Travon Williams, 33
Portsmouth
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Aggravated Identity Theft
108 months
Jamar Johnson, 31
Portsmouth
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
84 months
Ashley Carrillo Howell, 34
Bowie, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
70 months
Ronnie Beale, 33
Fort Washington, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
14 months
Ryan McNeil, 32
District Heights, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
14 months
Denae Horton, 25
Chesapeake
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
2 months
Eugene Cuffee, 34
Norfolk
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud
February 2
Nathaneal Williams, 25
Manassas
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Aggravated Identity Theft
February 16
Gentle Tyson, III, 33
Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
February 23
Rodriguez Norman, 31
Temple Hills, Maryland
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Aggravated Identity Theft; &
Conspiracy to Engage in an Animal Fighting Venture
March 16
Marvin Mitchell, 33
Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
March 23
Ebony Coe, 29
Virginia Beach
Conspiracy to Commit Bank and Wire Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft
March 23
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song, Whitney Russell, and Katherine Rumbaugh prosecuted the case.
The Manassas Park Police, Fairfax County Police, and Arlington County Police provided significant assistance during this investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:17-cr-214, 226, 227, 240, 252, 251, 254, 312.
Media Advisory: Attorney General Jeff Sessions visit to NorfolkRead the Press Release
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 24, 2018
WHAT: Attorney General Jeff Sessions will travel to Norfolk today to deliver remarks on national security and immigration priorities of the Administration.
WHEN: Today at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Slover Library, 6th Floor, 235 E. Plume Street, Norfolk, VA 23510
PRESS: Open Press. Camera preset at 12:30 p.m. for K9 sweep. Final access time for print media is 1:15 p.m. The AG will not be taking questions upon the conclusion of his remarks. This event is not open to the public.
NOTES: All media must RSVP and present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) as well as valid media credentials. The RSVP and any inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to [email protected]. Please RSVP with the email address of the person(s) attending the event, so that we may reach them directly if details change.
Man Sentenced for Stealing Checks from MailboxesRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 62 months in prison for stealing checks from curbside mailboxes.
According to court documents, Timothy Moody, 31, stole USAA checks from curbside mailboxes and used the information to make counterfeit Bank of America checks. He then used the counterfeit checks at Lowe’s, Walmart, and Home Depot to purchase merchandise, and later returned the merchandise at a different store location for cash.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Robert Wemyss, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Bradenham prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:17-cr-69.
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty in Odometer and Title Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Norfolk, Virginia, man pleaded guilty today to operating an odometer fraud scheme involving more than 50 vehicles, the Department of Justice announced.
Lawson W. Basnight, 48, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and odometer tampering.
Basnight pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller. Sentencing is set for May 16.
“When consumers purchase a vehicle, they rely on recorded mileage totals in assessing a vehicle’s cost, condition, and reliability for passenger safety,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice will continue to work diligently to prosecute individuals who use altered odometers and phony titles to defraud consumers.”
As part of his plea, Basnight acknowledged that, between 2010 and 2016, he purchased high-mileage vehicles online and then arranged to alter those vehicles’ odometers to reflect false, lower mileage readings. He also obtained fraudulent Virginia motor vehicle titles with mileage readings matching the false, lower mileages on the odometers. Basnight used the fraudulent titles to sell the vehicles with inflated sales prices to subsequent purchasers. As a result, consumers paid more for their vehicles than they would have paid had they known the true mileages and were unknowingly driving high-mileage vehicles. Basnight agreed that his conduct caused between $250,000 and $550,000 in loss to consumers.
Trial Attorneys Jacqueline Blaesi-Freed and John W. Burke of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting this case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Yusi of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA) investigated the case.
NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.
More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Odometer-Fraud, and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at this page: www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nvs/pdf/811284.pdf
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
Norfolk Man Pleads Guilty to Rolling Back Car OdometersRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit odometer tampering and securities fraud.
According to court documents, from in or about September 2010 through October 2016, Lawson W. Basnight, 47, and others conspired to defraud vehicle purchases into believing used vehicles had lower mileages than they actually had, resulting in the purchasers paying more for vehicles than they would have if they had known the true mileage of the used car. Basnight found high-mileage used cars for sale on the Internet, and when negotiating to buy the cars Basnight posed as a used car dealer. If he bought the car, he would instruct that the seller not fill in the assignment portion of the title. After Basnight got the car, he had another person roll back the odometer. Basnight would then prepare the title application with the false lower odometer readings. After securing new official titles, Basnight was able to get new purchasers to pay more money for the used cars.
Basnight pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit odometer tampering and securities fraud and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on May 16. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea. Trial Attorneys Jacqueline Blaesi-Freed and John W. Burke of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi are prosecuting the case.
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation (NHTSA) investigated the case.
NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually and has established a special hotline to handle odometer fraud complaints. Individuals having information relating to odometer tampering should call (800) 424-9393 or (202) 366-4761.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-171.
Man Pleads Guilty to DOD Bribery and Kickback ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alabama man pleaded guilty today to his role in a bribery and kickback scheme involving a contract for the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General (DOD OIG).
According to court documents, Ronald A. Capallia, Jr., 37, accepted over $700,000 in kickbacks from William S. Wilson, of Florida, in exchange for unlawfully steering work to Wilson’s companies in connection with prime government contracts, and further assisted Wilson in providing bribes to former DOD OIG employee Matthew Kekoa LumHo, 42, of Fairfax Station. At the time of the kickbacks, Capallia worked for a telecommunications company that had been awarded a prime contract to provide an array of voice and data services to the DOD OIG and other federal agencies. In return for the kickbacks, Capallia repeatedly caused his employer to order services from Wilson’s companies, even though he knew that Wilson’s companies had no relevant expertise in providing the services to be performed, and despite knowing that there was no legitimate business reason to involve Wilson’s companies. Capallia also submitted millions of dollars in false service orders to the DOD OIG for services that he, Wilson, and LumHo knew would not be provided to the government. Capallia arranged to submit these false service orders so that Wilson could substantially inflate the prices his company was charging indirectly to the government, and to conceal the fact that several of the service orders were pretexts through which to pay bribes to LumHo. Wilson routed the kickbacks to Capallia in the form of over $500,000 in supposed salary payments to Capallia’s relative for a job that did not exist, through the purchase of two brand new vehicles each worth over $40,000, through over $60,000 in Caribbean cruises, airfare, and hotel accommodations, and through the purchase of electronics equipment.
Capallia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to false claims. He faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison when sentenced on September 14. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Robert Craig, Special Agent in Charge for Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Samantha Bateman are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-223.
Federal Jury Convicts Fredericksburg Heroin DealerRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Fredericksburg man today on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a kilogram or more of heroin and of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Dustin Washington, 35, joined a conspiracy in late 2014 with several other individuals to sell heroin in the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County areas. Over the course of the conspiracy Washington sold fentanyl, a more potent, synthetic form of heroin, at least three times, including twice to an undercover officer. Subsequently, law enforcement used a confidential source to make approximately 12 controlled purchases of heroin from Washington in 2016. Audio recordings made during the controlled purchases revealed that Washington used other members of the conspiracy to provide him heroin to sell. On April 17, 2017, law enforcement executed search warrants on the homes of two other co-conspirators, finding more than 75 grams of heroin, and large quantities of cocaine and Molly. While executing a search warrant on Washington’s vehicle, law enforcement found an AR-15 rifle in the trunk. From 2014 through 2017, Washington and his co-conspirators distributed and possessed with the intent to distribute more than 1 kilogram of heroin.
Washington faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the firearm charged when sentenced on May 4. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, and Colonel Gary T. Settle, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson accepted the verdict. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Anthony is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-104.
Connecticut Resident Sentenced to Prison for Concealing Assets in Swiss AccountsRead the Press Release
A Greenwich, Connecticut, man was sentenced to six months in prison today for failing to report over $28 million in funds he maintained in Swiss bank accounts to the Department of Treasury, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Chief Don Fort, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI). In pronouncing the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Brinkema took into consideration Kim’s cooperation with the government, which occurred for more than a five-year span.
According to documents and other information provided in court, Hyong Kwon Kim, a citizen of South Korea and, since 1998, a legal permanent resident of the United States, resided in Massachusetts and later in Connecticut. Kim, a sophisticated business executive who ran family businesses with operations in the United States and internationally, inherited tens of millions of dollars that he stashed in secret accounts at Credit Suisse, its subsidiaries, and another Swiss bank. Kim deliberately violated the U.S. bank secrecy laws by failing to report his foreign financial accounts to the Treasury Department. U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and permanent legal residents with a foreign financial interest in or signatory authority over a foreign financial account worth more than $10,000 are required to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, commonly known as an FBAR, disclosing the account.
Kim conspired with a host of foreign enablers, including Dr. Edgar H. Paltzer, his Swiss attorney who pleaded guilty in 2013 in the Southern District of New York, and bankers to conceal his assets and income in Swiss accounts held in his own name, the name of a relative, and in the names of sham corporate entities. Kim schemed with Paltzer and his bankers to structure financial transactions in a manner that allowed him to utilize the funds in the United States, while concealing his ownership and control of the offshore funds. For example, Kim had checks issued to third parties in the United States in order to purchase a luxury home in Greenwich, Connecticut, a waterfront vacation retreat in Chatham, Massachusetts, and jewelry adorned with multi-carat diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. In order to conceal his ownership of the vacation home, Kim and Paltzer created a sham entity to hold title to the home. Kim and Paltzer acted as if Kim rented the home from a fictitious owner.
In 2008, as Credit Suisse closed accounts held in the names of sham entities owned by persons residing in the United States, Kim refused to bring his assets to the United States. Instead, he transferred his assets to another Swiss bank. Kim send coded messages from the United States to his Swiss banker in order to maintain control of his account.
Kim ultimately brought his assets to the United States by paying a Swiss jeweler millions of dollars for a ring with a 13.9 carat sapphire and three loose diamonds totaling 13 carats.
Along with failing to report his foreign accounts, Kim also filed false income tax returns for 1999 through 2010 with the IRS, failing to report investment income and failing to disclose the earnings from his holdings in the offshore accounts.
In addition to his term of incarceration, U.S. District Court Judge Brinkema ordered Kim to pay a fine of $100,000 and $243,542 in restitution to the IRS. Kim, in accordance with his plea agreement, also paid a civil penalty of over $14 million dollars to the U.S. Treasury for his willful failure to file, and willfully filing false, FBARs.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman, U.S. Attorney Boente and IRS CI Chief Fort commended special agents of IRS CI, who investigated the case, and Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly and Trial Attorney Robert J. Boudreau of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle of the Eastern District of Virginia, who prosecuted this case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Virginia Man Convicted of Anti-Gay Hate CrimeRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a Virginia man of committing a hate crime for assaulting a co-worker at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Chester in May 2015.
James William Hill III, 36, of Chester, was found guilty yesterday of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for his assault on a co-worker at the Amazon Fulfillment Center on May 22, 2015. Evidence showed that Hill assaulted the co-worker because of the co-worker’s perceived sexual orientation. Hill admitted to an Amazon manager and a Chesterfield County Police Officer that he dislikes people who are gay, and further stated that people who are gay should expect to be assaulted because of their sexual orientation.
Hill faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced at a later date. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. David Schiller, and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Chesterfield County Police Department.
Virginia Man Convicted of Anti-Gay Hate CrimeRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Virginia man of committing a hate crime for assaulting a co-worker at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Chester in May 2015.
James William Hill III, 36, of Chester, was found guilty yesterday of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act for his assault on a co-worker at the Amazon Fulfillment Center on May 22, 2015. Evidence showed that Hill assaulted the co-worker because of the co-worker’s perceived sexual orientation. Hill admitted to an Amazon manager and a Chesterfield County Police Officer that he dislikes people who are gay, and further stated that people who are gay should expect to be assaulted because of their sexual orientation.
Hill faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when sentenced at a later date. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, John M. Gore, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, and Colonel Jeffrey S. Katz, Chief of Chesterfield County Police Department, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. David Schiller, and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-009.
Former Contractor at Military Sealift Command Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Bribery, and Honest Services FraudRead the Press Release
A former contractor at the Military Sealift Command (MSC) pleaded guilty today for accepting bribes totaling approximately $2.8 million in the course of a bribery and fraud scheme that lasted more than a decade.
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Dana Boente for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Martin Culbreth of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Craig, Jr. of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Clifton J. Everton, III of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement.
Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., 58, formerly of Stafford, Virginia, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard of the Eastern District of Virginia to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery, and three counts of honest services mail fraud. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 8 before Chief District Court Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
For more than a decade, Miserendino was a contractor at the MSC, an entity of the U.S. Department of the Navy that supports and supplies the Navy and other U.S. military forces in their global warfighting and disaster relief missions. According to the plea agreement, Miserendino and Joseph P. Allen, the owner of a government contracting company, conspired to use Miserendino’s position at MSC to enrich themselves through bribery.
Specifically, beginning in about 1999, Miserendino used his position and influence at MSC to help Allen obtain and expand commission arrangements with a telecommunications company from which MSC purchased maritime satellite communications services. Through these arrangements, Allen received a commission based on the amount of services that MSC purchased from the telecommunications company. For more than a decade, Miserendino then used his position and influence at MSC to perform official acts to benefit the telecommunications company, which through the commission agreement also benefitted Allen and his company.
Unknown to MSC or the telecommunications company, throughout the scheme, Allen paid half of the commissions he received from the telecommunications company to Miserendino as bribes. In total, Miserendino received almost $3 million in bribes from Allen between 1999 and 2014.
For his role in the scheme, Allen, 56, formerly of Panama City, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in April 2017, and was sentenced on July 28, 2017, to five years in prison by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen, in Norfolk.
The FBI, DCIS and NCIS are investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Sean Mulryne and Molly Gaston of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Haynie for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
Richmond Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 12 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for distributing cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, Parrish Williams, 31, was on federal supervision when he committed these crimes. According to court documents, Williams began selling “crack” cocaine and other controlled substances within months of his release from federal prison for previous drug and firearms convictions. Evidence presented at his sentencing hearing showed that Williams was engaged in the distribution of narcotics from October 2016 until his arrest in July 2017.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, and Alfred Durham, Chief of Richmond Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-Miller prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:17-cr-95.
Pimp Sentenced to 30 Years for Prostituting Two Minor VictimsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Dumfries man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison and ordered to pay $648,000 in restitution for sex trafficking two minor victims from July 2013 to July 2015.
Michael Edward Gunn, 41, is a previously convicted sex offender. According to court documents, Michael Gunn lured and enticed the two minor victims into his prostitution ring and kept them there by providing drugs, telling the victims the ring was a family that took care of each other, providing the victims a place to stay, and by engaging in sexual relationships with both minor victims. During the course of the conspiracy, the minor victims brought in approximately $648,000 in earnings, the majority of which went to Michael Gunn.
According to evidence presented at trial, Michael Gunn helped create online advertisements, drove them to prostitution appointments, and collected and controlled the money. Evidence also showed that Michael Gunn knew both minor victims were underage. For example, around the time one of the victims was 14 years old, Gunn saw a missing persons poster with the girl’s photo and her actual date of birth.
Michael Gunn was joined in this conspiracy to prostitute the two minors by his wife, Angel Gunn, 35, and his girlfriend, Vanessa Dominguez, 31. Both women were adult prostitutes who assisted him in running the prostitution ring and testified at trial as to Michael Gunn’s role in leading the conspiracy. Both women pleaded guilty to sex trafficking minors. Angel Gunn was sentenced to 140 months in prison, and Vanessa Dominguez was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, M. Jay Farr, Arlington County Chief of Police, Barry M. Barnard, Chief of Prince William County Police, and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of Virginia State Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Cain and Kimberly R. Pedersen prosecuting the case.
The Dumfries Police Department provided significant assistance with this investigation.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-137.