Eastern District of Virginia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Violent Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 22 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jerome Robert Barnhart, 36, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 264 months in prison for kidnapping, followed by five years of supervised release.
Barnhart pleaded guilty on Dec. 7, 2015. According to court documents, Barnhart met the victim in Maryland and, after striking up a romance with her and supplying her with marijuana, Barnhart persuaded the victim to be prostituted and to turn over her earnings to him. Barnhart prostituted the victim in Washington, D.C., New York, Maryland, and Virginia. Barnhart imposed a monetary quota on the victim, and when the victim was unable to meet the quota, he became enraged. He periodically beat the victim and threatened her with bodily harm. On one such occasion, Barnhart used the lid of a can to slice the victim’s finger.
In August 2015, after the victim again failed to meet her quota, Barnhart beat the victim at a hotel in Maryland, and then drove the victim to Virginia. During the ride, Barnhart continued to beat the victim with a tire iron. Barnhart threatened the victim and told her that he was going to dump her body where nobody would find it. While Barnhart was beating the victim with the tire iron, his car swerved on the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The U.S. Park Police initiated a traffic stop and found Barnhart and the bruised victim in the car. Because the victim was bruised and crying, the police separated her from Barnhart and she began to recount her ordeal. A grand jury later indicted Barnhart for kidnapping, sex trafficking by force, fraud, coercion, and assault with a dangerous weapon, among other charges.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Robert D. MacLean, Chief of U.S. Park Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Molly Scullin and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Frank prosecuted the case.
The Fairfax County Police Department, the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force, and the City of Frederick (Maryland) Police assisted in the investigation.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-CR-270.
Turkish National Convicted of Arms Export Control Act OffensesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Hamza Kolsuz, 43, a Turkish national, was convicted today by the Senior U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III on three counts relating to his attempted exportation of weapons parts to the Republic of Turkey in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
Kolsuz was indicted on March 2, 2016. According to court records and the evidence at trial, Kolsuz has on at least three occasions since 2012 attempted to smuggle various weapons parts to Turkey. Kolsuz, who engaged in this unlawful conduct for profit along with other individuals, purchased weapons and weapons parts in the United States and then traveled with them to Turkey, where they would be reassembled and sold. In an attempt to circumvent U.S. weapons exportation laws, Kolsuz would either pack the weapons parts in luggage and check the bags in connection with flights to the Republic of Turkey, or he would send weapons parts through the mail.
According to evidence presented at trial, on December 2, 2012, Kolsuz checked in for a flight at JFK International Airport in New York with a final destination of Istanbul, Republic of Turkey. His checked luggage included: forty upper receivers for semi-automatic pistols; twenty grip modules for Sig Sauer pistols; sixteen barrels for semi-automatic pistols; twenty-six firearms magazines for firearms; and one pistol grip.
On January 8, 2013, Kolsuz checked in for a flight at JFK International Airport with a final destination of Istanbul. Despite having been specifically informed on December 2, 2012 that it was illegal to export weapons parts without an export license, his checked luggage contained one Beretta slide, one firearm barrel, one Beretta recoil spring, and one Beretta guide rod.
On February 2, 2016, Kolsuz began his return trip to Istanbul by checking in at Miami International Airport for a flight that took him to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He then checked in for a flight that was to take him and his checked luggage from Cleveland through Washington Dulles International Airport before embarking for Istanbul. In Cleveland, Kolsuz checked luggage containing four 9mm Glock 31-round magazines; four 9mm Glock 17-round magazines; four 9mm Glock 15-round magazines; eight 9mm Glock 10-round magazines; one 9mm Smith & Wesson 32-round magazine; four 9mm Sig Sauer handgun barrels; and five 9mm threaded Glock 19 barrels, in addition to various other weapons parts.
All of the weapons parts found in Kolsuz’s checked luggage on December 2, 2012; January 8, 2013; and February 2, 2016 are and were defense articles controlled on the United States Munitions List and therefore required a license or other written authorization from the United States Department of State’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (the “DDTC”) in order to be lawfully exported from the United States. Kolsuz has never applied for and has never received any licenses or other written authorization from the DDTC to export defense articles from the United States. Accordingly, on each occasion when weapons parts were found in Kolsuz’s checked luggage, all of the parts were seized by law enforcement and were never returned to Kolsuz.
Kolsuz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 7, 2016. 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; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, made the announcement after the verdict was announced. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather N. Alpino and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis M. Fitzpatrick.
HSI Washington, D.C., received assistance with this investigation from HSI New York and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-53.
North Chesterfield Man Pleads Guilty to Theft from Defense Supply CenterRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – William M. Johnson, 57, of North Chesterfield, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of theft of government property.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in 2007, the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation (“DLA”), located at the Defense Supply Center Richmond in Chesterfield, VA, began a project to recycle steel from steel shelving units in DLA warehouses that were scheduled for demolition. DLA employees were tasked with dismantling the shelving units, collecting the steel, and transporting the steel to a recycling company for payment. The DLA employees were then required to return the money from the recycling company to DLA, which would deposit the money into an account earmarked for the DLA’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation fund.
Beginning in 2014, an investigation led by the Office of Inspector General for DLA and Office of Inspector General for the Department of Defense revealed that Johnson would take the steel to the recycling company and receive payment, but would not turn the money in to DLA. The investigation further revealed that between the fall of 2011 through June 2013, Johnson stole approximately $106,830 as a result of the recycling project, all of which belonged to DLA.
Johnson pleaded guilty to a criminal information filed by the United States and now faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He will be sentenced on September 30, 3016. 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; and Robert E. Craig, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen E. Anthony is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-74.
Baltimore Man Sentenced for Role in Home Depot Shoplifting RingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Christopher Lee Miller, 38, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced today to 15 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy.
Miller pleaded guilty on April 7, 2016. According to court documents, Miller was a member of a shoplifting ring that targeted Home Depot stores in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Miller and his co-conspirators would steal merchandise from Home Depot stores and then return the stolen merchandise without a receipt. In exchange, they would receive store credit, which they sold for cash. Over the course of five years, Miller helped to defraud Home Depot of approximately $140,000 in store credit.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler McGaughey prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-210.
Stafford Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Arrange Sex with a MinorRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Justin Frank Clark, 28, formerly of Stafford, pleaded guilty yesterday to attempting to coerce and entice a minor.
According to court documents, from April through May, Clark responded to an online ad posted by an undercover agent, claiming to advertise a ten-year-old girl for sex. Through a series of emails and messages, Clark arranged to travel from Stafford to Washington, D.C., to have sex with the minor. While arranging the meeting, Clark also sent multiple videos containing child pornography to the undercover agent.
Clark faces a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on September 16. 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; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and David P. Decatur, Stafford County Sheriff, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Dougherty Russell is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-157.
Former Border Station Employee Pleads Guilty to Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Amy L. Planch, 50, of Moyock, North Carolina, pleaded guilty today to evasion of income tax assessment.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, beginning in 1998, Planch worked full time at The Border Station, Inc., a popular retail store, gas station and restaurant located on the border of Currituck County, North Carolina and Chesapeake, Virginia. In her capacity as the bookkeeper and Chief Financial Officer of the company, Planch was responsible for payroll, paying bills, making deposits, transferring funds, and other tasks.
In March 2010, Planch opened a holiday-themed gift shop in Moyock, North Carolina, called the Carolina Christmas Shoppe, Inc. Although she spent the majority of her time at her new business, she retained her responsibilities as the Border Station’s bookkeeper. Beginning in early 2010, Planch began wiring thousands of dollars from the Border Station’s accounts to the Carolina Christmas Shoppe account and her personal accounts, at times then wiring a significantly smaller amount back into the Border Station’s accounts. Over the course of nearly three years, Planch transferred a net of approximately $966,000 from the Border Station to her business and personal accounts. These funds were used to pay her personal expenses, including credit card payments, mortgage payments, travel, clothing, and jewelry. Planch did not report the finances taken without authorization from the Border Station on her individual income tax returns. In December 2012, the owner of the Border Station became aware of Planch’s transfers and fired her. In March 2013, Planch traveled to the FBI offices in Chesapeake, Virginia and, during an interview with IRS and FBI agents, attempted to implicate the Border Station’s owner in a variety illegal activities, to include gambling, drugs, bank fraud, and others.
Planch was charged by criminal information on May 17, and will be sentenced on October 14 by Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Planch faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. 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; and Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller. Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Kathleen Dougherty is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-76.
Chesterfield Woman Indicted on Fraud ChargesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Pamela Minor-Chiles, 47, of Chesterfield, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 21 on 27 counts of bank fraud. The indictment was unsealed today.
According to the indictment, Minor-Chiles, the office manager of the Central Virginia OB/GYN Associates (CVOG), misappropriated approximately $210,000 from the practice from 2007 until 2012. The scheme involved Minor-Chiles writing approximately 133 checks on the CVOG operating account at SunTrust Bank and fraudulently depositing them into her personal accounts at the Bank of America from 2007 to 2012. The indictment also alleges that Minor-Chiles concealed the misappropriations by (1) putting fraudulent entries on the check stubs to make it appear that the misappropriated checks were written to outside vendors for legitimate expenses of the practice, and (2) then submitting the fraudulent check stubs to the outside accountants.
On each count of bank fraud, Minor-Chiles faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison if convicted. 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.
Minor-Chiles had her initial appearance today before Magistrate Judge Roderick Young, who released her on bond. Minor-Chiles will have her arraignment before the Honorable Hannah Lauck on July 8.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Douglas F. Mease, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the return of the indictment. Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-CR-083.
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.
U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente Issues Statement on Supreme Court Ruling in McDonnell v. United StatesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, released the following statement today on the Supreme Court’s ruling in McDonnell v. United States:
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office is reviewing the Supreme Court’s decision in the McDonnell matter and does not have any further comment at this time.”
Hampton-Based Spice Retailer and Wholesaler Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Jayson Mickle, 31, of Hampton, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and controlled substance analogues.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from 2008 to 2014, Mickle sold smokable synthetic cannabinoids, commonly known as “spice,” in the Hampton Roads area and, eventually, nationwide. Spice consists of plant material sprayed with ever changing active chemical ingredients often produced in clandestine laboratories in China. These chemicals mimic the effects of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Mickle sold blends of spice with names like Hampster Purp, HPT Cherry, Bizarro, and Orgazmo. Although the packets of spice were labeled “not for human consumption,” Mickle knew that the spice was to be smoked for its intoxicating properties.
Mickle began sales through retail stores by the name of Hampton Pipe and Tobacco, located in Hampton, Newport News, Gloucester and Norfolk. In 2010, Mickle also began a wholesale operation online called Blazin Herbs. In 2013, the wholesale outfit’s name was changed to 7 City Gifts. At times, Mickle was supplied by Zencense, which was a large-scale spice producer and wholesaler based in Florida. Between January 2012 and April 2013, Mickle’s spice distribution operation purchased in excess of 1,000 kilograms of spice for resale from Zencense. Mickle’s operations also supplied the Red Barn, a convenience store in Newport News, with spice in late 2013 into early 2014. From 2010 to 2012 alone, Mickle’s retail operation, Hampton Pipe and Tobacco, grossed over $9,600,000 in spice sales. On average, Hampton Pipe and Tobacco would retail spice by the gram for about $8.00 per gram.
Mickle was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2016 on a superseding indictment. Mickle faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 13. 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; Michael K. Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk; Richard Myers, Chief of Police, Newport News Police Department; Terry L. Sult, Chief of Police, Hampton Police Department; Maria L. Kelokates, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Mark S. McCormack, Special Agent in Charge, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, Metro Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Hurt and Kevin Hudson, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Cross-Rochefort, are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:15-cr-18.
Sexual Predator Used Facebook to Coerce and Exploit Underage GirlsRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Dylan Allen Jeffries, 26, of Clifton Forge, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for coercion or enticement of a minor. Jeffries was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.
“Jeffries’ predatory behavior, targeted at multiple underage and vulnerable girls is very serious and certainly deserving of this punishment,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Every minor is a potential target of online sexual predators. Parents must do everything they can to protect their children, and we must continue to punish adults who attempt to sexually exploit them.”
Jeffries pleaded guilty on February 8. According to court documents, Jeffries used Facebook and text messages to graphically describe proposed sexual encounters with at least two victims: Jane Doe 1, who was 12 years old at the time he proposed sexual encounters and requested pornographic images of her; and Jane Doe 2, who was 13 years old. Further, when agents searched Jeffries’ bedroom, they recovered an external hard drive with images and videos of other underage girls dating back to 2010, and Jeffries stated he had received the majority of the images in the same way that he had received and attempted to receive images from Jane Doe 1—directly from the girls depicted via private Facebook and email messages.
Jeffries acknowledged that the girls depicted on the external hard drive were minors at the time the images and videos were created, and forensic examination of the external hard drive identified 22 images and three videos depicting child pornography.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin C. Gratton and Lisa R. McKeel prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:15-cr-83.
Ringleader Sentenced to 10 Years for Oxycodone ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – William Delonta Granberry, 37, of Hughesville, Maryland, was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, to be followed by three-year term of supervised release.
Granberry pleaded guilty on February 10. According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Granberry acknowledged that beginning in or around 2010, and continuing until December 2015, he fabricated prescriptions of oxycodone utilizing legitimate prescription paper delivered to his residence. He also admitted to fabricating the prescribing information of legitimate physicians obtained from the website DEANumber.com, and using primarily fictitious patient names. Granberry then recruited a network of co-conspirators who used individuals called “runners” to fill these fraudulent prescriptions at various pharmacies. After acquiring the fraudulently obtained oxycodone from his co-conspirators, Granberry distributed the oxycodone to other individuals for a high profit. Since 2008, the criminal organization has fraudulently obtained approximately 130,000 oxycodone pills. Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced as part of the investigation to date.
Five other defendants are awaiting sentencing: Sheila Coleman will be sentenced July 8; Dmitri Walls-White on July 22; Andre Granberry on August 12; James Powell on September 9, and; Roxanne Granberry on September 16.
This sentencing is the product of a multi-year, multi-jurisdictional, and multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation designated “Operation Circuit Breaker.” Operation Circuit Breaker focuses upon the illegal procurement and sale of prescription pain medication across the mid-Atlantic region.
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 Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Hayden and Anna G. Kaminska, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney thanked the Department of Defense–Office of the Inspector General, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Virginia State Police, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this matter.
This case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation Circuit Breaker, which focuses on the illegal procurement and sale of prescription pain medication across the mid-Atlantic region. 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 may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-284, 1:14-cr-340, 1:14-cr-389, 1:15-cr-29, 1:16-cr-16, 1:16-cr-26, and 1:16-cr-28.
Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Sex with 13 Year-OldRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – James Aubrey Brown, IV, 40, of Woodbridge, who was convicted by a federal jury on charges of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor on March 3, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for his crimes. Brown was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Brown responded to a Craigslist ad purportedly posted by a 13-year-old girl living on Marine Corps Base Quantico. Over a period of 12 days and an exchange of over 275 emails, Brown repeatedly pressed the girl to meet and engage in sexual acts, including oral and vaginal sex. He also solicited nude photos of the girl. Ultimately, he arranged to come to Marine Corps Base Quantico to have sex with the girl. Over email, he directed her as to what to wear and what do when he arrived. On the morning of Sept. 14, 2015, Brown arrived at the meeting location where he was arrested for attempting to persuade a person he believed to be a 13 year-old to engage in sexual activity that would be criminal under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Jeremy Gauthier, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Dougherty Russell and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Longobardo prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-342.
Former Nurse Pleads Guilty to ID Theft and Bank FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Capri M. Williams, 25, of Richmond, pleaded guilty today to identity theft and bank fraud charges related to her stealing personal identifying information (PII) of hundreds of patients while employed at Commonwealth Primary Care (CPC), Inc., in Richmond.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in February 2015 Williams was employed as a licensed practical nurse by CPC, and had access to PII of patients at CPC. On Feb. 11, 2015, Williams accessed the PII of B.S., a patient who had received care at CPC. That same day, Williams used B.S.’s name, date of birth, and Social Security number to apply for a credit card with Citibank. The application was approved and Williams eventually used the account to issue a balance transfer check made out to her for $4,500. After receiving the check she deposited it into an account in her name. The total loss amount of Williams’ conduct is at least $34,906.15.
Williams was charged by criminal information on June 17, and will be sentenced on September 15.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Maria L. Kelokates, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Roderick C. Young. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather L. Hart and David Harbach are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-76.
Toano Man Pleads Guilty to Impersonating a Federal AgentRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Luis Latorre-Roman II, 41, of Toano, pleaded guilty today to charges of false impersonation of a federal agent.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Latorre-Roman II is described as having appeared as a witness at a sentencing in the Circuit Court of James City County on February 24. After being sworn, Latorre-Roman II claimed to be a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security. He provided this testimony in an effort to persuade the Circuit Court Judge to impose a lesser sentence on the defendant in that proceeding. Latorre-Roman has never been a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security.
Latorre-Roman II was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 10, and faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison sentenced on October 3. 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, 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 plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-47.
Former Swiss Banker Pleads Guilty to Tax FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Michele Bergantino, 48, a citizen of Italy and a resident of Switzerland, pleaded guilty today to charges related to the aiding and assisting U.S. taxpayers in evading their income taxes during his employment as a banker working for Credit Suisse AG on its North American desk.
“Hiding assets and creating secret accounts in an attempt to evade income taxes is a losing game,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Today’s plea shows that we will continue to prosecute bankers and U.S. citizens who engage in this criminal activity. I want to thank our law enforcement partners and prosecutors for their work on this important case.”
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Bergantino admitted that from 2002 to 2009, while working as a relationship manager for Credit Suisse in Switzerland, he participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in evading their income taxes by concealing assets and income in secret Swiss bank accounts. Bergantino oversaw a portfolio of accounts, largely owned by U.S. taxpayers residing on the West Coast, which grew to approximately $700 million of assets under management. Bergantino admitted that the tax loss associated with his criminal conduct was more than $1.5 million but less than or equal to $3.5 million.
“Mr. Bergantino is now the third fugitive to come to the United States and plead guilty to charges in this case,” said Caroline D. Ciraolo, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. “To those who have actively assisted U.S. taxpayers in using offshore accounts to evade taxes, the message is clear: staying outside the United States will provide little comfort. We will investigate and charge you, and will work relentlessly to hold you to account for your actions.”
During his time as a relationship manager, Bergantino assisted many U.S. clients in utilizing their Credit Suisse accounts to evade their U.S. income taxes and to facilitate concealment of the U.S clients’ undeclared financial accounts from the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Among the steps taken by Bergantino to assist clients in hiding their Swiss accounts were the following: assuring them that Swiss bank secrecy laws would prevent Credit Suisse from disclosing their undeclared accounts to U.S. law enforcement; by discussing business with clients only when they traveled to Zurich to meet him; structuring withdrawals from their undeclared accounts by sending multiple checks, each in amounts below $10,000, to clients in the United States; facilitating the withdrawal of large sums of cash by U.S. customers from their Credit Suisse accounts at Credit Suisse offices in the Bahamas, in Switzerland, particularly the Credit Suisse branch at the Zurich airport and at a financial institution in the United Kingdom; holding clients’ mail from delivery to the United States; issuing withdrawal checks from Credit Suisse’s correspondent bank in the United States; and taking actions to remove evidence of a U.S. client’s control over an account because the U.S. client intended to file a false and fraudulent income tax return. Moreover, Bergantino understood that a number of his U.S. clients concealed their ownership and control of foreign financial accounts by holding those accounts in the names of nominee tax haven entities, or structures, which were frequently created in the form of foreign partnerships, trusts, corporations or foundations.
“Today’s plea of Michele Bergantino is another example of IRS-Criminal Investigation’s (CI) dedication to bringing individuals to justice who engage in helping U.S. taxpayers evade their tax obligations,” said Richard Weber, Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “We will continue our global efforts to vigorously pursue both U.S. taxpayers who avoid paying their fair share and the unscrupulous professionals who facilitate their actions. For those hiding cash or assets offshore, the time to come clean is now.”
Bergantino also admitted to traveling to the United States approximately one to two times per year to meet with clients, taking careful steps to conceal the purpose of his visits from U.S. law enforcement. He used private couriers to send clients’ account statements to the U.S. hotels where he stayed, so that he would not be caught traveling with clients’ statements in his possession. In addition, Bergantino obtained “travel” account statements for each client he intended to visit which were devoid of Credit Suisse’s logo and account or customer identification information and used business cards that Credit Suisse provided that contained only his name and office number and did not carry the Credit Suisse name or logo. On entering the United States, Bergantino provided misleading information regarding the nature and purpose of his visit to U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities.
In addition to assisting customers in evading their U.S. taxes, Bergantino also provided illegal advice to U.S. customers regarding investments in U.S. securities. Neither Bergantino nor Credit Suisse were registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and both U.S. law and Credit Suisse policy prohibited Bergantino and other Credit Suisse employees from providing investment advice in the United States. Nevertheless, Credit Suisse management pressured its employees, including Bergantino, to make sales in the United States.
Two of Bergantino’s co-defendants, Andreas Bachmann and Josef Dörig, pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment in 2014 and were sentenced on March 27, 2015. Credit Suisse pleaded guilty in May 2014 for conspiring to aid and assist taxpayers in filing false returns and was sentenced in November 2014 to pay $2.6 billion in fines and restitution.
Bergantino faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on September 23. 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, Caroline D. Ciraolo, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Richard Weber, Chief of IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle and Senior Litigation Counsel Mark F. Daly and Trial Attorney Robert J. Boudreau of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:11-cr-95.
Drug Dealer Who Fired Shots at Police Officers Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Stefon I. Malone, 25, of Newport News, pleaded guilty today to various drug and gun charges related to his involvement in drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Newport News.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Malone’s role within the conspiracy was to distribute cocaine base and provide security for the drug trafficking operation. From Jan. 1, 2013 through Feb. 28, 2013, Malone distributed cocaine base from a rooming house on Chestnut Avenue.
On Feb. 28, 2013, Malone fired his Glock 9mm pistol at Newport News Police Department officers, who were serving a search warrant at the rooming house, striking one police officer in his ballistic vest and a striking a second police officer’s ballistic shield.Malone was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 10, 2015, and faces a maximum consecutive penalty of 5 to 40 years for the drug conspiracy and 10 years to life in prison for the firearm offense. Malone is to be sentenced on October 19, 2016. 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, and Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Bradenham II is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:15-cr-65.
Six Gang Members Convicted of Four Murders and Multiple RobberiesRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Three members of the Newport News street gang “Thug Relations,” were convicted by a federal jury of multiple murders and robberies, in addition to other crimes related to their criminal enterprise.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, “Thug Relations” was a criminal organization whose members and associates engaged in acts of violence, including five murders, numerous drug robberies and shootings. The jury convicted the three defendants of racketeering conspiracy with special verdicts on four separate murders; the murder of Aaron Sumler, on July 5, 2007; Lafayette Bailey on Dec. 15, 2009; Lloyd Robinson on Jan. 9, 2010; and Dominque Wharton on March 16, 2010.
The jury returned the verdict of Friday afternoon, also finding the Pridgen brothers guilty of VICAR murders, Hobbs Act robbery violations, felon in possession charges and use of a firearm resulting in murder. One of the felon in possession charges related to the murder of an innocent woman, Gale Perch, who was killed on Nov. 15, 2009, as she was in a car with the intended murder victim.
Name, Age, Hometown
Charges Convicted of
Sentencing Date
Eric Pridgen,
aka “Rabbit”, 33,
Newport News
Racketeering conspiracy, (including the murders of Lafayette Bailey, Lloyd Robinson and Dominque Wharton); multiple robberies; murder in aid of racketeering; use, carry, discharge of firearm resulting in murder, felon in possession of firearm and ammunition, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, and interference with commerce by robbery.
October 12
Hebert Pridgen, aka “Bok”, 29, Newport News
Racketeering conspiracy, (including the murders of Lafayette Bailey, and Lloyd Robinson, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, interference with commerce by robbery, murder in aid of racketeering, and, use, carry and discharge a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in murder.
October 13
Maurice McLain, aka “Mo”, 33, Newport News
Racketeering conspiracy, including the murder of Aaron Sumler.
October 12
Three other defendants, Douglas Ashby, Robbie Bowles and Antonio Johnson were charged in the same indictment, but pleaded guilty prior to trial.
Douglas Ashby, aka “Mance,” aka “Murder Mance,” and aka “Murder,” age 30, of Newport News, pleaded guilty on Nov. 12, 2015, to his participation in the racketeering conspiracy and admitted his involvement in the murders of Aaron Sumler and Lloyd Robinson. On March 16, 2016, he was sentenced to over 34 years in prison.
Robbie Bowles, aka “Rob,” age 31, of Newport News, pleaded guilty on Nov. 16, 2015, to his participation in the racketeering conspiracy and admitted his involvement in the murder of Aaron Sumler. On May 3, 2016, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Antonio Johnson, age 30, of Newport News, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11, 2016, to using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in the murder of Lafayette Bailey. On May 11, 2016 he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Both Eric and Herbert Pridgen face a mandatory life sentence following their convictions on the murder in aid of racketeering charges. Maurice Mclain faces a maximum penalty of up to life in prison based on the special verdict form returned regarding the murder of Aaron Sumler. 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, Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Office, and Richard Myers, Chief of Police, Newport News Police Department made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa R. McKeel and Brian J. Samuels, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Yvonne L. Garcia of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:14-cr-59.
Richmond Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Sex with MinorRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Stephen T. Callis, 47, of Richmond, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for enticement of a minor, and sex trafficking of children. Callis was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender upon release from prison.
Callis pleaded guilty on March 3. According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Callis admitted that he posed online via KIK Messenger as a 15-year-old girl, “Kayla,” in order to initiate communication with the juvenile victim. Posing as “Kayla” on KIK Messenger, Callis discussed engaging in prostitution with older men with the juvenile victim, and said that “Kayla” would introduce the juvenile to older men for the purpose of prostitution. Callis then used the “Kayla” persona to introduce the juvenile to “Mark,” another alias Callis used online.
According to court documents, Callis and the juvenile then engaged in sexual conversations via KIK Messenger. The juvenile and Callis arranged to meet for the first time in approximately November 2014. Callis rented a hotel room for their first meeting and paid the juvenile $60 for sexual services. Callis and the juvenile engaged in sex acts in a hotel room approximately seven times, and Callis paid the juvenile for sexual acts on approximately five of those occasions. Callis was aware that the juvenile was a minor, and he picked the juvenile up from high school several times. Throughout this time, Callis and the juvenile continued to engage in sexual conversations via KIK Messenger, and the juvenile sent Callis naked pictures via KIK Messenger.
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 Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather L. Hart prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-003.
Former Loudoun County Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Frank Michael Pearson, 45, a former Loudon County Sheriff’s Deputy from Winchester, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for embezzling $229,381.01 from the asset forfeiture fund at the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office. Pearson was also ordered to pay $229,381.01 in restitution to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and complete three years of supervised release after he is released from prison.
Pearson was found guilty after a bench trial on March 31. According to court documents, court records and evidence presented at trial, beginning in 2006 Pearson was designated as the deputy responsible for overseeing the asset forfeiture program for the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office. The evidence presented at trial showed that beginning in or about February 2010, and continuing through October 2013, Pearson engaged in a scheme to embezzle and steal money that had been seized by other members of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for potential asset forfeiture. The evidence showed that Pearson embezzled money from 80 separate cases over this period, taking in excess of $229,000 that had been entrusted to him.
The evidence further proved that Pearson concealed his embezzlement scheme by making false statements to his coworkers and others about the timing and fact of whether he had deposited seized money into an escrow account maintained by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at a local bank. For example, the evidence showed that on two separate occasions, Pearson re-used an old deposit slip from an unrelated case and passed it off as a new deposit slip to conceal the fact that he had not deposited all of the money entrusted to him. The evidence further showed that in at least one instance, Pearson took money seized in one case and passed it off as money that had been seized in another case, to hide his ongoing embezzlement. Financial records admitted at trial also showed that Pearson increased his personal cash deposits and cash spending during the more than three-year period of the embezzlement scheme.
The evidence also proved that late on the evening of Oct. 30, 2013, and in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, 2013, after being confronted by his supervisor about the location of missing money that had been entrusted to him, Pearson removed several boxes of money from the narcotics office where he worked, and never returned to work again.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Burke and Mark D. Lytle prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-193.
Two Portsmouth Drug Dealers Sentenced for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Norman Preston Stephenson, 35, and Samuel Gray, aka Pig, 36, both of Portsmouth, were sentenced today to 264 months, and 120 months in prison, respectively, for conspiring to distribute crack cocaine. Additionally, Stephenson was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release and Gray was sentenced to five years of supervised release.
According to court documents, Stephenson was a member of the Corna Sto Boys, a group formed in the late 1990s by individuals distributing crack cocaine near the corner of Elm Avenue and Fayette Street in Portsmouth. The group most recently dealt crack cocaine around an intersection across the street from Brighton Elementary School in Portsmouth. In August 2015, the Portsmouth Police Department conducted 17 controlled purchases of crack cocaine from members of the organization.
Stephenson dealt over one kilogram of crack cocaine between December 2014 and October 2015, when he was arrested for beating a woman who stole his drug stash. Gray, an affiliate of the Corna Sto Boys, dealt over one half kilogram of crack cocaine over the year prior to his arrest. Three other members of the group have pleaded guilty in federal court and are awaiting sentencing.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Washington Field Division; John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of the Portsmouth Police Department; 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 sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse and Joseph E. DePadilla, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler, prosecuted the cases.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-16 and 2:16-cr-19.
Three Men Sentenced to Prison for Credit Card Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Three men were sentenced to prison today for their involvement in a credit card fraud scheme which involved re-encoded credit cards with stolen bank information. All three defendants were directed to pay $68,337.66 in restitution to their victims.
Name, Age
Hometown
Charges
Sentence
Manvel Avagyan, 32
Van Nuys, California
Bank fraud and aggravated identity theft
45 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release
Davit G. Ghazaryan, 26
Brooklyn, New York
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft
54 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release
Hrayr Margaryan, 26
Brooklyn
Conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravate identity theft
45 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release
According to court documents and testimony, on April 21, 2015, Spotsylvania Deputy Sheriffs received a call about suspicious activity around two bank branches. Upon responding, they observed Ghazaryan and Margaryan seated in a van parked in a near-by parking lot. They found 150 blank plastic cards with magnetic strips re-encoded with stolen credit card information, as well as a paper with the address of a Richmond area gas station that had been identified by banks as a point of compromise for customers’ debit cards. Deputies found Avagyan in a restaurant across the street. Several weeks later, an employee of the restaurant located three re-encoded cards, identical to those recovered from the van, buried in gravel near the front entrance of the restaurant. The three men were subsequently linked via bank photographs to withdrawals from ATMs that occurred in March and April 2015 in Pennsylvania and Virginia using stolen debit or credit card numbers.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Douglas F. Mease, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office; and Spotsylvania County Sheriff Roger L. Harris, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore and former Special Assistant U.S Attorney Margaret W. Reed prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Secret Service as members of the Metro-Richmond Identity Theft Task Force. They were assisted by the Fredericksburg Police Department, the City of Richmond Police Department, the State College, Pennsylvania Police Department, and numerous other police departments in Pennsylvania. Prosecutions for the Task Force are handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:15-cr-155.
ISIL-Linked Hacker Pleads Guilty to Providing Material SupportRead the Press Release
Ardit Ferizi, aka Th3Dir3ctorY, 20, a citizen of Kosovo, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkemaof the Eastern District of Virginia to providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and accessing a protected computer without authorization and obtaining information.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Michelle S. Klimt of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida, Division made the announcement.
“Ferizi admitted to stealing the personally identifiable information of over 1,000 U.S. servicemembers and federal employees, and providing it to ISIL with the understanding that they would incite terrorist attacks against those individuals,” said Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “The case against Ferizi is the first of its kind, representing the nexus of the terror and cyber threats. The National Security Division will continue to use an all-tools approach to combat this ever-evolving blended threat, and we will identify, disrupt and prosecute any individual who provides material support to ISIL, no matter how they do so.”
“Ferizi endangered the lives of over 1,000 Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “Cyber terrorism has become an increasingly prevalent and serious threat here in America, both to individuals and businesses. However, cyber terrorist are no different from other terrorists: No matter where they hide, we will track them down and seek to bring them to the United States to face justice.”
“Ardit Ferizi launched a cyberattack to gain access to the identities of U.S. military personnel, which he shared with members of ISIL in an attempt to incite terror attacks,” said Assistant Director in Charge Abbate. “No matter how a person supports a terrorist group like ISIL, whether on the battlefield or in the cyber world, the FBI will identify, disrupt and bring them to justice for placing lives at risk.”
“This case demonstrates the importance of strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies worldwide,” said Special Agent in Charge Michelle S. Klimt. “Cybercrime knows no boundaries and our efforts to dismantle these operations would be impossible without international collaboration. The FBI will continue to vigorously investigate these crimes and work with our international partners to track down and arrest those who steal from our nation and citizens.”
Ferizi, who was detained by Malaysian authorities on a provisional arrest warrant on behalf of the United States, was charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 6, 2015. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Oct. 15, 2015. Ferizi subsequently waived extradition.
Ferizi admitted that on or about June 13, 2015, he gained administrator-level access to a server that maintained the website of a victim company located in the United States, which also contained databases with personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to tens of thousands of the victim company’s customers. Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully-obtained PII to ISIL member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani, he admitted. According to the statement of facts, on Aug. 11, 2015, in the name of the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), Hussain posted a tweet that contained a document with the PII of approximately 1,300 U.S. military and other personnel that Ferizi had taken from the victim company and provided to Hussain. The document stated, in part, that “we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” Ferizi admitted that he provided the PII to ISIL with the understanding that ISIL would use the PII to “hit them hard.”
At sentencing on Sept. 16, 2016, Ferizi faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for providing material support to ISIL and a maximum sentence of five years for accessing a protected computer without authorization and obtaining information. 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. As part of the plea, Ferizi also agreed to a stipulated order of removal to Kosovo, his country of citizenship, upon completion of his criminal sentence.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office and Jacksonville Division investigated the case. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Van Grack of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s (NSD) Counterterrorism Section, with assistance from Trial Attorney Vincent A. Citro of NSD’s Counterterrorism Section and Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of NSD’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The Malaysian authorities and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
ISIL-Linked Hacker Pleads Guilty to Providing Material SupportRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ardit Ferizi, aka Th3Dir3ctorY, 20, a citizen of Kosovo, pleaded guilty today to charges of providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization, and accessing a protected computer without authorization and obtaining information.
“Ferizi endangered the lives of over 1,000 Americans,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Cyber terrorism has become an increasingly prevalent and serious threat here in America, both to individuals and businesses. However, cyber terrorist are no different from other terrorists: No matter where they hide, we will track them down and seek to bring them to the United States to face justice.”
“Ferizi admitted to stealing the personally identifiable information of over 1,000 U.S. servicemembers and federal employees, and providing it to ISIL with the understanding that they would incite terrorist attacks against those individuals,” said John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security. “The case against Ferizi is the first of its kind, representing the nexus of the terror and cyber threats. The National Security Division will continue to use an all-tools approach to combat this ever-evolving blended threat, and we will identify, disrupt and prosecute any individual who provides material support to ISIL, no matter how they do so.”
“Ardit Ferizi launched a cyber attack to gain access to the identities of U.S. military personnel, which he shared with members of ISIL in an attempt to incite terror attacks,” said Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge pf the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “No matter how a person supports a terrorist group like ISIL, whether on the battlefield or in the cyber world, the FBI will identify, disrupt and bring them to justice for placing lives at risk.”
Ferizi, who was detained by Malaysian authorities on a provisional arrest warrant on behalf of the United States, was charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 6, 2015. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Oct. 15, 2015. Ferizi subsequently waived extradition.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Ferizi admitted that on or about June 13, 2015, he gained administrator-level access to a server that maintained the website of a victim company located in the United States, which also contained databases with personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to tens of thousands of the victim company’s customers. Between June and August 2015, Ferizi provided unlawfully-obtained PII to ISIL member Junaid Hussain, aka Abu Hussain al-Britani, he admitted. According to the statement of facts, on Aug. 11, 2015, in the name of the Islamic State Hacking Division (ISHD), Hussain posted a tweet that contained a document with the PII of approximately 1,300 U.S. military and other personnel that Ferizi had taken from the victim company and provided to Hussain. The document stated, in part, that “we are in your emails and computer systems, watching and recording your every move, we have your names and addresses, we are in your emails and social media accounts, we are extracting confidential data and passing on your personal information to the soldiers of the khilafah, who soon with the permission of Allah will strike at your necks in your own lands!” Ferizi admitted that he provided the PII to ISIL with the understanding that ISIL would use the PII to “hit them hard.”
Ferizi faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison when sentenced on September 16. 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. As part of the plea, Ferizi also agreed to a stipulated order of removal to Kosovo, his country of citizenship, upon completion of his criminal sentence.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Michelle S. Klimt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Jacksonville, Florida, Division, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Van Grack and Trial Attorney Gregory Gonzalez of the National Security Division’s (NSD) Counterterrorism Section, with assistance from Trial Attorney Vincent A. Citro of NSD’s Counterterrorism Section and Trial Attorney Matthew Walczewski of NSD’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
The Malaysian authorities and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-42.
Former Director of General Services Administration Division and Husband Indicted for Fraud and NepotismRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Helen Renee Ballard, 51, and Robert S. Ballard, 55, both of Brandywine, Maryland, were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false statements for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain employment from the U.S. government and federal contractors for family members.
According to the indictment, Helen Renee Ballard (“Renee Ballard”) was the Director of the Central Office Contracting Division of the United States General Services Administration (GSA) from May 2006 to May 2011. From 2006 through May 2011, Renee Ballard and her husband, Robert S. Ballard (“Steve Ballard”), engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves and their family members by obtaining employment with federal contractors and the U.S. government through false and misleading statements concerning their relation, education, qualifications, and experience. As part of the $1.3 million scheme, Renee and Steve Ballard fraudulently induced a federal contractor located in Arlington to hire four relatives of the Ballards and a relative of Renee Ballard’s direct subordinate. The Arlington based contractor then placed all of the Ballard’s relatives, including Steve Ballard, on a federal contract awarded by GSA and supervised by Renee Ballard. Later, according to the indictment, Renee Ballard attempted to hire Steve Ballard, her husband, for a position within GSA under her supervision.
In addition, according to the indictment, Renee and Steve Ballard caused over 139 false employment applications to be submitted to federal agencies, including the FBI, Office of the Director of the National Intelligence, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. These applications falsely misrepresented Steve Ballard’s education, qualifications, and experience, including that he had earned or taken classes toward a master’s degree and was certified in government contracting at Levels I, II, and III. In order to corroborate these false representations, Renee and Steve Ballard created and submitted fake certification documents. Finally, in order to conceal the scheme, Renee Ballard removed relevant documents from government files and suggested that a witness lie to federal investigators.
Renee and Steve Ballard face a mandatory sentence of two years in prison if convicted of aggravated identity theft and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted of wire fraud. 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, and Carol Fortine Ochoa, Inspector General, GSA, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Uzo Asonye and Katherine Wong are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16CR136.
Maryland Woman Found Guilty of Leading Oxycodone OperationRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Roxanne Granberry, 35, Hughesville, Maryland, was convicted today by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and obtaining oxycodone by fraud.
Granberry was indicted on February 3. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Roxanne Granberry and her husband, William Granberry, ran a large-scale drug conspiracy in which they created fraudulent prescriptions for narcotics and used drug runners in multiple pharmacies in Virginia and several other states to obtain thousands of oxycodone tablets. Roxanne and William recruited individuals to drive to pharmacies and pass the prescriptions, and also engaged in direct sale and distribution of the oxycodone to numerous buyers in Virginia and other states. Since 2008, the criminal organization has fraudulently obtained approximately 130,000 oxycodone pills. Thirteen other members of this conspiracy have also been convicted.
Granberry faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on September 16. 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; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Hayden and Anna G. Kaminska, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi are prosecuting the case.
The U.S. Attorney thanked the Department of Defense–Office of the Inspector General, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Virginia State Police, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for their assistance in this matter.
This case is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Operation “Circuit Breaker,” which focused on the vast illegal procurement and sale of prescription pain medication across the mid-Atlantic region and elsewhere, including Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.. 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 may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-28.
Virginia Music Volunteer Sentenced to 300 Months in Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A Virginia man who served as a volunteer with the music program at Grace E. Metz Middle School in Manassas, Virginia, was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for production of child pornography, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and distribution and receipt of child pornography.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., and Chief Douglas Keen of the Manassas City Police Department made the announcement.
David Alexander Battle II, 24, of Manassas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia, who also ordered Battle to serve 15 years of supervised release. Battle was convicted by a federal jury on March 10, 2016.
According to evidence presented at trial, Battle used his home computer to share images of child sexual exploitation via webcam on a chat website in April 2015. Battle also posed as a minor girl on another chat platform and chatted with minor boys, including two boys he personally knew, coercing and enticing them to send him sexually explicit images of themselves. The trial evidence also showed Battle’s laptop contained gigabytes of child sexual exploitation files.
HSI and the Manassas City Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Herndon, Virginia, Police Department and the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C., Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Prabhu of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting 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.
Local Music Volunteer Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – David Alexander Battle II, 24, who served as a volunteer with the music program at Grace E. Metz Middle School in Manassas, was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for production of child pornography, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography after being convicted by a federal jury on March 10.
Battle was charged by superseding indictment on February 11. According to court records and evidence at trial, an Internet Protocol address linked to Battle was used to share a sexually explicit video involving a child on a chat website in April 2015. Battle also posed as a minor girl on another chat platform and chatted with minor boys, coercing and enticing them to send him sexually explicit images of themselves. The evidence demonstrated that the defendant personally knew two of the boys he chatted with on this platform.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Douglas W. Keen, Manassas City Chief of Police; and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. The Herndon Police Department and the Northern Virginia/Washington, D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) assisted in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay V. Prabhu and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Britsch prosecuted the case.
This investigation was 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.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-274.
California Man Sentenced to 32 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Violate U.S. Sanctions Against SyriaRead the Press Release
Amin al-Baroudi, 50, a Syrian-born naturalized U.S. citizen, formerly of Irvine, California, was sentenced today to 32 months in prison for conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods from the United States to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. government.
The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Assistant Director in Charge Deirdre Fike of the FBI’s Los Angeles Division and Director Douglas Hassebrock of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement.
Baroudi pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2016. According to court documents, Baroudi admitted that from at least December 2011 through March 2013, he and his co-conspirators exported U.S. tactical equipment to Syria for the purpose of supplying and arming Ahrar al-Sham and other insurgent groups in Syria whose stated goal is to overthrow the Assad government and install an Islamic state. Ahrar al-Sham frequently fights alongside Jabhat al-Nusrah, which has been designated by the U.S. State Department as a foreign terrorist organization and operates as al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria.
According to court documents, Baroudi and his co-conspirators purchased tens of thousands of dollars of goods from companies and vendors in the United States, consisting largely of tactical equipment such as sniper rifle scopes, night vision rifle scopes, night vision goggles, laser bore sighters, speed loaders and bullet proof vests. Baroudi and his co-conspirators traveled with the goods aboard commercial flights to Turkey and then transported the goods into Syria or provided them to others for transport. Baroudi made two such trips in February and March of 2013.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, FBI’s Los Angeles Division and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; California Highway Patrol; the Irvine Police Department; the Orange County, California, Sheriff’s Department; and the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Orange County provided significant assistance.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia K. Martinez of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Christian Ford and Robert Wallace of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Virginia Man Charged with Providing Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
In a criminal complaint unsealed in the Eastern District of Virginia today, Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 26, of Alexandria, Virginia, was charged with providing and conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization.
The complaint was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
Khweis was detained by Kurdish Peshmerga military forces on March 14, 2016 in northern Iraq after leaving an ISIL-controlled neighborhood in Tal Afar, Iraq. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Khweis admitted to renting a car in Alexandria and flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport to begin his travel to join ISIL in mid-December 2015. His travel included stops in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands before ultimately crossing into Syria through Turkey with the help of ISIL facilitators. Khweis admitted that he stayed in an ISIL safe house in Raqqa, Syria, with other ISIL recruits who were going through an intake process, and at one point during the intake process, answered yes when asked by ISIL if he would be a suicide bomber. Khweis also admitted to participating in ISIL-directed religious training for nearly one month in preparation for his service to ISIL.
Khweis will have his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in Alexandria today at 2 p.m. EDT before U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson of the Eastern District of Virginia.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Khweis Complaint
Alexandria Man Charged with Providing Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – In a criminal complaint unsealed here today, Mohamad Jamal Khweis, 26, of Alexandria, has been charged with providing, and conspiring to provide, material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Khweis was detained by Kurdish Peshmerga military forces on March 14 in northern Iraq after leaving an ISIL-controlled neighborhood in Tal Afar, Iraq. According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Khweis admitted to flying out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport to begin his travel to join ISIL in mid-December 2015. His travel included a stop in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands before ultimately crossing into Syria through the Republic of Turkey with the help of ISIL facilitators. Khweis admitted that he stayed in an ISIL safe house in Raqqa, Syria with other ISIL recruits who were going through an intake process, and at one point during the intake process he answered yes when asked by ISIL if he would be a suicide bomber. Khweis also admitted to participating in ISIL-directed religious training for nearly one month in preparation for his service to ISIL.
Khweis will have his initial appearance at the federal courthouse in Alexandria today at 2 p.m. in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge John F. Anderson.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the unsealing of the criminal complaint. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dennis Fitzpatrick and Trial Attorney Raj Parekh of the Justice Department’s National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-mj-213.
The 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.
Mo Money Tax Return Preparers Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Filing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
Two Memphis, Tennessee, area residents were sentenced to prison today for conspiring to defraud the United States and aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Jeremy Blanchard, 35, and Erik Pittman, 35, both of Memphis, were sentenced to serve 70 and 33 months in prison, respectively, to be followed by three years and one year of supervised release, respectively. Blanchard and Pittman previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns. The defendants were ordered to pay $549,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
“Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Pittman inflated the deductions and credits claimed on their clients’ income tax returns to line their own pockets at the expense of the U.S. Treasury,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo. “Taxpayers seeking assistance with their returns should expect and are entitled to honest and accurate advice and representation. When preparers seek to abuse our nation’s tax system for their own personal gain, the department stands ready with its law enforcement partners to investigate, prosecute and hold the offenders accountable for their criminal conduct to the fullest extent of the law.”
“While most tax return preparers provide excellent service to their clients, it only takes a few dishonest return preparers to give the industry a black eye,” said Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the IRS-Criminal Investigation’s (CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office. “IRS-CI works year round to investigate dishonest return preparers and protect the American taxpayers’ money. Return preparers must comply with the same tax obligations as the clients that they serve. No one is above the law.”
According to court documents, Blanchard and Pittman were partners in a return preparation business, Mo Money Taxes, which operated three locations in the Richmond, Virginia, area. Blanchard, Pittman and others prepared numerous false tax returns for their customers for the 2011 tax year. Blanchard and Pittman admitted that they created and inflated fictitious and fraudulent tax credits, including the Earned Income Credit and the American Opportunity Credit, to claim tax refunds that customers were not entitled to receive. Blanchard and Pittman admitted that their conduct caused a loss to the IRS of more than $250,000, but less than $550,000.
Another participant in this scheme, Corey Taylor, 25, of Richmond, was sentenced on March 22 to serve 20 months in prison for one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Ciraolo and U.S. Attorney Boente thanked special agents of IRS-CI, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Kevin F. Sweeney and Todd P. Kostyshak of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Miller of the Eastern District of Virginia, who prosecuted the case.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division’s website.
Mo Money Tax Return Preparers Sentenced for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Jeremy Blanchard, 35, and Erik Pittman, 35, both of Memphis, Tennessee, were sentenced today to serve 70 and 33 months in prison, respectively, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. Both were ordered to pay $549,000 in restitution.
Blanchard and Pittman pleaded guilty on March 10. According to the statement of facts filed with their plea agreements, Blanchard and Pittman, along with others, prepared numerous false tax returns for the 2011 tax year for customers of their tax return preparation business. Blanchard and Pittman were preparers in Mo Money Taxes, which operated three locations in Richmond. Blanchard and Pittman admitted that they created and inflated fictitious and fraudulent tax credits, including the Earned Income Credit and the American Opportunity credit, to claim tax refunds that customers were not entitled to receive. As part of their guilty pleas, Blanchard and Pittman admitted that their conduct caused a loss to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of more than $250,000, but less than $550,000.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Caroline D. Ciraolo, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division; and Thomas Jankowski, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigations, Washington D.C. Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Miller, and Trial Attorneys Kevin F. Sweeney and Todd Kostyshak of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:15-cr-136.
Former Navy Sailor Sentenced for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Jon A. Miller, 47, of Bloxom, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distribution of child pornography.
Miller pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography on February 17. According to court documents, in April 2015, Miller distributed child pornography by accessing the internet from his Navy Marine Corps Intranet workstation at Naval Surface Combat Systems Command on Wallops Island. Miller sent emails to other internet users that included sexually explicit images of prepubescent females. He also uploaded child pornography to Twitter, which resulted in Twitter notifying the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of the defendant’s activities, and ultimately allowed NCIS agents to identify him.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Tim Quick, Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyssa K. Nichol prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-21.
Woman Who Sold Guns, Drugs and Fake Grenade Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Maria Del Carmen Flores Beltran, 43, of Stephenson, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for selling over 400 grams of cocaine and a dozen firearms, ammunition and a fake grenade to ATF agents in 2015.
Flores Beltran pleaded guilty on February 17. According to court documents, in June 2015, ATF identified Flores Beltran, who is an illegal alien from El Salvador, as a potential cocaine distributor. From July 2015 to December 2015, ATF agents carried out 13 controlled buys from Flores Beltran, purchasing a total of approximately 402 grams of cocaine. ATF agents also purchased 12 firearms, various types of ammunition, and a hoax grenade. The firearms sold by Flores Beltran included two rifles, three shotguns (one modified with a shortened barrel and stock), four semi-automatic handguns, two revolvers, and an M1-style .30 caliber pistol with a high capacity magazine. On multiple occasions, Flores Beltran sold cocaine and firearms together during the same transaction.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael Boxler, 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 Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Tyler McGaughey prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-40.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 8 Years for Buying Firearms at Gun ShowRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Josiah John Weiss, 36, of Suitland, Maryland, was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for possession of firearms as a convicted felon.
Weiss was found guilty by a federal jury on March 9. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on April 25, 2015, Weiss purchased two semiautomatic pistols and an AR-15 rifle, along with magazines and gun cases for each, from a private seller at The Nation’s Gun Show in Chantilly. Weiss was observed doing so by Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Due to his suspicious behavior, he was followed by ATF agents as he drove away from the parking lot of the Dulles Expo Center, where the gun show was being held. When Weiss discovered that he was being followed, he began driving erratically and at high speeds and eventually eluded the agents. Later that day agents executed a search warrant at an apartment Weiss had been living in at the time in Alexandria. Neither Weiss nor the three firearms were found there. Law enforcement remained unaware of Weiss’ whereabouts until Nov. 10, 2015, when he was arrested outside one of his two apartments in Suitland. Despite a search of those two apartments, the firearms were not recovered. Weiss had been convicted of aggravated identity theft and passport fraud, both felonies, in 2011, and thus was prohibited from possessing firearms.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Michael Boxler, 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 T.S. Ellis, III. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carina A. Cuellar and Michael E. Rich prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-cr-354.
Bloods Gang Member Sentenced to Prison for Prostituting a MinorRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Cordario Marcell Uzzle, 23, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for sex trafficking of a child. He was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.
Uzzle pleaded guilty on February 19. According to court documents, Uzzle was a member of a set of the Bloods street gang based in Virginia Beach. Along with several other Bloods gang members, Uzzle prostituted a 16 year-old foster-care runaway over a two-week period in the fall of 2015. The girl was forced to work for several different gang members, and performed commercial sex acts from hotels in Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Uzzle posted prostitution advertisements on the Internet, rented rooms in which prostitution appointments were performed, collected the proceeds earned, and carried a firearm to protect himself and his victims, as well as to intimidate his victims and their customers.
In October 2015, the sex trafficking ring was discovered when the 16 year-old victim was transported to the hospital after Uzzle violently attacked her. As a result of the ensuing federal investigation, seven total Bloods gang members or associates have been charged for their roles in this conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minor and three other victims have been identified.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John S. Adams, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and James A. Cervera, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Kathleen Dougherty prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-2.
Ashburn Man Sentenced for Sex Trafficking a Child and Sex Tourism CrimesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Eric Noe Araujo Flores, of Ashburn, was sentenced today to 300 months in prison for various sex tourism and sex trafficking crimes. Araujo Flores was also ordered to pay approximately $40,000 in restitution to his victim.
“Sex tourism and sex trafficking of children are vicious crimes that result in irreparable harm to the victims,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We will continue to work diligently to prosecute those who travel to foreign countries to prey upon children.”
“Today’s sentencing sends a strong message: Diplomatic Security is committed to making sure that those who commit sex trafficking of children, and sex trafficking customers, face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Bill A. Miller, Director of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. “Diplomatic Security’s strong relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies around the world continues to be essential in the pursuit of justice.”
According to court documents and testimony at trial, Araujo Flores was introduced to a 14-year-old victim while she lived in El Salvador. Araujo Flores learned that street gangs were threatening her and her family with violence and he offered to help them escape from the gangs, promising financial support in exchange for sexual acts with the minor. In July 2013, he travelled to his native El Salvador with gifts and money, and after meeting with the victim’s mother, he had sex with the victim in a hotel room. After he left, Araujo Flores continued to contact the victim via telephone and later made two more trips to El Salvador to have sex with the victim. He paid cash for some of the sex acts, and also provided money for rent, food, clothing, and jewelry to the victim and her family.
In June 2014, Araujo Flores arranged for the victim and her mother to be smuggled from El Salvador into the United States through Texas. Ultimately, the victim and her mother stayed at a house Araujo Flores owned in Sterling, and periodically he would come to the home to have sex with the victim. Araujo Flores provided the victim with a counterfeit permanent resident card which included a false birthdate indicating she was over the age of 18. When the victim expressed that she did not want to have sex with Araujo Flores, he threatened her and said that if she told Araujo Flores’ wife about the sex, his wife would beat her and he would have the victim and her mother deported to El Salvador. Araujo Flores also threatened to stop providing food and to evict the victim and her mother from their apartment if she stopped having sex with him.
On Feb. 19, 2016, a federal jury convicted Araujo Flores of nine offenses, including four counts of sex trafficking of a child, three counts of foreign travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct (also known as sex tourism), coercion and enticement, and harboring an alien for an immoral purpose.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Bill A. Miller, Director of the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) for the U.S. Department of State; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler, Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
The case was investigated by DSS, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fairfax County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Frank prosecuted the case.
If you believe you are a victim in this case, please call the Fairfax County Police Department non-emergency number at 703-691-2131.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:15-CR-320.
Four-Time Convicted Felon Sentenced for Multiple Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Sherrod Cannon, 25, of Portsmouth, was sentenced today to 130 months in prison for his role in three separate armed robberies committed in Portsmouth and Chesapeake in April 2015. Cannon was also ordered to pay $731.55 in restitution to his victims, and ordered to serve five years of supervised release after his prison sentence.
Cannon pleaded guilty on Feb. 25, 2016, to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by means of robbery and to brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. According to court documents, videotape surveillance at the third 7-Eleven that was robbed showed Cannon’s co-conspirator casing the store just minutes before Cannon entered and pointed a revolver at the employees. Shortly after the robbery, officers identified two suspects matching the description provided by the victim, who later identified Cannon as the gunman. Police found cash matching the amount taken from the registers evenly split between Cannon and his co-conspirator. Cannon also had a $2 bill, which the victim confirmed was stolen from the cash register during the robbery. Police later recovered the loaded .38 caliber revolver that was used during the armed robbery near a Little League baseball field.
The date and location of each robbery is listed below:
Date
Location
April 10, 2015
7-Eleven, 5001 Portsmouth Boulevard, Portsmouth
April 13, 2015
7 Eleven, 3445 Western Branch, Chesapeake
April 27, 2015
7-Eleven, 3500 Deep Creek Boulevard, Portsmouth
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; Kelvin L. Wright, Chief of Chesapeake Police; and Tonya D. Chapman, Chief of Portsmouth Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew C. Bosse and Joseph E. DePadilla, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-121.
Serial Child Molester Sentenced to 40 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Eduardo Bueno, 42, of Portsmouth, was sentenced today to 480 months in prison for distribution of child pornography. Bueno was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
“This man is a menace,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “He has multiple convictions for sexually abusing children; several drug convictions, and on numerous occasions has failed to register as a sex offender. Today’s sentence not only puts this criminal behind bars for the next 40 years, but sends a clear message to other child molesters that they will pay a heavy price for their crimes.”
“Child pornography, when it is released onto the Internet, lives on forever,” said Michael Lamonea, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk. “It haunts the children depicted in it, who live daily with the knowledge that countless strangers use an image of their worst experiences for their own gratification. Let today’s sentence serve as notice to other child predators. We will find you, investigate you, and ensure you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Bueno pleaded guilty on February 12. According to court documents, Bueno has two prior convictions for sexual abuse of children in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, including that of a 6 year-old girl. In the immediate case, in 2015, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip that Bueno was trading child pornography via his e-mail account. Law enforcement officers performed a search of the account which revealed that Bueno had been trading these videos and images via e-mail as well through other technologies for a long period of time. Additionally, Bueno stated during an interview with law enforcement officers that he finds minor girls attractive, struggles not to look at them, and that he tried to avoid being alone with a minor relative. The public filings in this case also include statements by a minor relative who says she was sexually abused by Bueno.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Michael 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 Police, Portsmouth Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-8.
Four Newport News Gang Members Plead Guilty to 2015 ShootingRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Eric Edmunds, II, 20, pleaded guilty today to criminal charges relating to his participation in a gang shooting outside a Sonic restaurant in Hampton in 2015.
“Gangs and the violence they bring to our neighborhoods and communities cannot continue,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are prepared on a federal and local level to take a stand against gangs and the violence they perpetrate. Only by working together at every level and in every community, will we make progress towards ending this threat to our youth and their families.”
Edmunds pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder in of aid of racketeering activity, and discharge of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. Quantavius Durham, 19, Raiquan Turner, 20, and Raquille Jackson, 22, also of Newport News, previously entered guilty pleas to the same charges. Each of the defendants was a member or associate of the 36th Street Bang Squad.
Defendant
Guilty Plea Date
Sentencing Date
Raquille Jackson
February 24
July 18
Raiquan Turner
March 11
June 7
Quantavius Durham
March 14
July 18
Eric Edmunds, II
May 31
September 12
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, these four men, all members or associates of the 36th Street Bang Squad, a hybrid criminal street gang, followed a Hampton Public School bus looking for a rival gang member on June 5, 2015. According to court documents, the men did not find the rival, whom they suspected of killing a fellow gang member a few days earlier. The men returned to their vehicle, which was parked at the Sonic Restaurant on Floyd Thompson Boulevard. A short time later, Turner observed rival gang members walking toward the Sonic restaurant, and Jackson, the driver of the vehicle, called the rivals over to the vehicle. As the rivals approached, Jackson and Edmunds opened fire. Edmunds used a firearm provided to him by Durham. Hampton Police quickly stopped the fleeing vehicle only miles from the location, and all four defendants were removed from the vehicle. Ballistic tests of the firearms recovered from the vehicle matched casings left at the scene of the shooting, and all four men were positive for gunshot residue.
All four defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 17, 2015. Each of the defendants faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced. The minimum and maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are 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; and Michael Boxler, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Office; and Terry L. Sult, Chief of the Hampton Police Division, made the announcement, after Edmunds’ plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Zlotnick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Cross are prosecuting the case. The case was investigated by the ATF, with significant assistance from the Hampton Police and Newport News Police.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:15cr80.
Virginia Man Indicted for Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 26, of Woodbridge, Virginia, was indicted by a grand jury late yesterday on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a designated foreign terrorist organization; aiding and abetting the provision of material support to ISIL; and making false statements to the FBI.
The indictment was announced by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin and U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to the indictment, from on or about Aug. 1, 2015, until Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan unlawfully and knowingly conspired with Joseph Hassan Farrokh to provide material support or resources to ISIL. In furtherance of the conspiracy, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan drove Farrokh to Richmond, Virginia, in order to enable Farrokh to fly to overseas to join ISIL.
According to the indictment, Elhassan also attempted to provide material support or resources to ISIL by aiding and abetting Farrokh’s attempt to join ISIL. Elhassan’s aiding and abetting included introducing Farrokh to an individual that Elhassan believed could facilitate Farrokh’s travel overseas; driving Farrokh from Farrokh’s home to Richmond so that Farrokh could embark on his travel to join ISIL; and making false statements to the FBI about Farrokh’s travel in order to hinder the government’s investigation of Farrokh’s travel.
According to the indictment, Elhassan knowingly, unlawfully and willfully made material false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter involving international terrorism, including: On Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan falsely stated to FBI agents that Farrokh had flown out of Dulles Airport earlier that day on a flight to California to attend a funeral; that Farrokh had said that he would be back in about two weeks; that neither he nor Farrokh supported ISIL; and neither he nor Farrokh ever tried to find someone to help them get to ISIL.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
If convicted, Elhassan faces a maximum sentence of 48 years in prison. 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.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis M. Fitzpatrick and Gordon D. Kromberg of the Eastern District of Virginia, along with Trial Attorney D. Andrew Sigler of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Three Indicted for Smuggling Artifacts into U.S. and Citizenship FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ijaz Khan, 42, and Vera Lautt, 56, both of Sante Fe, New Mexico, and Ibrar Khan of Pakistan, were indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for a conspiracy to defraud the United States and naturalizing and procuring U.S. citizenship by fraud. Ijaz Khan faces additional charges, along with Fahad Khan of Pakistan, for conspiring to smuggle and for smuggling artifacts from Pakistan into the United States, and for conspiring to obstruct justice and for obstructing justice.
According to the indictment, Ijaz Khan and Vera Lautt met on the Internet in 2001. In early 2002, Lautt travelled to Pakistan to meet Ijaz Khan for the first time in person and while there signed marriage documents. Both Ijaz Khan and Lautt submitted fraudulent documents to the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which enabled Ijaz Khan to immigrate to the United States in 2003 and later become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009. At the time Ijaz Khan signed marriage documents with Lautt, he was in a marital relationship with a Pakistani woman, already had children, and continued to have children with the Pakistani woman during his purported marriage to Lautt. The conspiracy included eleven separate attempts to obtain immigration benefits by fraud, five of which were successful and another five of which are still pending.
According to the indictment, Ijaz Khan allegedly used his fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship to cause the fraudulent immigration and naturalization of his four oldest children. Khan also assisted with a petition filed on behalf of his brother, Ibrar Khan. The indictment alleges that even before his four oldest children arrived from Pakistan, Ijaz Khan divorced Lautt and returned to Pakistan to obtain marriage documents for his Pakistani wife. Upon his return to the United States, while continuing to live with Lautt, Ijaz Khan allegedly began fraudulently filing for immigration benefits for his mother, his Pakistani wife, and two additional children. The indictment also alleges that Ibrar Khan participated in the conspiracy to defraud USCIS and DOS, and to procure U.S. citizenship by fraud.
According to the indictment, after Ijaz Khan immigrated to the United States, Ijaz Khan, Fahad Khan and others conspired to smuggle Pakistani artifacts into the United States, from approximately 2007 through at least May 2014, Ijaz Khan used his business to facilitate the importation of smuggled Pakistani artifacts that he would then resell at shows, online, and to established customers.
The indictment further alleges that in October 2013, a shipment of Pakistani artifacts was inspected and later administratively seized by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). After Ijaz Khan became aware of the inspection, he, Fahad Khan and others conspired to submit various false and fraudulent documents to CBP in an attempt to cause CBP to release the shipment. One of the conspirators is John Bryan McNamara, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiring with Ijaz Khan and Fahad Khan to smuggle artifacts into the United States and admitted he made false statements to special agents when questioned about the October 2013 shipment. Ijaz Khan and Fahad Khan are both charged in the indictment with conspiring to and making false statements associated with the criminal investigation and federal grand jury investigation in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, and Steven A, Linick, Inspector General, Department of State Office of Inspector General, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Wong and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian D. Harrison are prosecuting the case. The case is being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of State’s Office of Inspector General.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-130 and 1:15-cr-307.
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.
Taxi Driver Indicted for Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to ISILRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, 26, of Woodbridge, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), aiding and abetting the provision of material support to ISIL, and false statements.
According to the indictment, from on or about Aug. 1, 2015, and continuing until Jan. 15, 2016, in Elhassan unlawfully and knowingly conspired with Joseph Hassan Farrokh to provide material support or resources to ISIL, a designated foreign terrorist organization. In furtherance of the conspiracy, on Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan drove Farrokh to Richmond in order to enable Farrokh to fly to overseas to join ISIL.
According to the indictment, Elhassan also attempted to provide material support or resources to ISIL by aiding and abetting the attempt of Farrokh to join ISIL. Elhassan’s aiding and abetting included introducing Farrokh to an individual that Elhassan believed could facilitate Farrokh’s travel to the Islamic State; driving Farrokh from Farrokh’s home to Richmond in Elhassan’s taxi cab so that Farrokh could embark on his travel to join ISIL; and making false statements to the FBI about Farrokh’s travel in order to hinder the government’s investigation of Farrokh’s travel.
According to the indictment, Elhassan knowingly, unlawfully, and willfully made material false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a matter involving international terrorism, including: On Jan. 15, 2016, Elhassan falsely stated to FBI agents that Farrokh had flown out of Dulles Airport earlier that day on a flight to California to attend a funeral; that Farrokh had said that he would be back in about two weeks; that neither he nor Farrokh supported the ISIL; and neither he nor Farrokh ever tried to find someone to help them get to ISIL.
Elhassan is scheduled to be arraigned on June 3 and faces a maximum penalty of 48 years in prison if convicted. 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis M. Fitzpatrick and Gordon D. Kromberg are prosecuting the case. This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16cr64.
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.
Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Justin Chamberlain, 28, of Chesterfield, was sentenced yesterday to 181 months in prison for four armed bank robberies. Chamberlain was also ordered to pay $54,308 in restitution to Wells Fargo Bank and $4,650 in restitution to Argent Federal Credit Union.
Chamberlain pleaded guilty on February 26 to four counts of armed bank robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to one of those robberies. According to court documents, on June 27, 2015, Chamberlain entered the Well Fargo Bank branch on Amberdale Drive in Chesterfield wearing a mask and pointed what appeared to be a pistol at one of the tellers. Chamberlain stated, “Empty the drawers and no one gets hurt.” The teller, concerned for her safety and the safety of others in the bank, turned over $6,674 to Chamberlain.
Chamberlain returned to the same Wells Fargo branch on July 18, 2015, again wearing a mask. This time he brandished a pistol grip shotgun and stated, “You know the drill.” Tellers turned over $22,800.
On Aug. 27, 2015, Chamberlain, carrying the same shotgun and again wearing a mask, robbed the Argent Federal Credit Union in Northern Chesterfield. While brandishing the gun, he told the teller to, “Put everything in the bag” that he provided. Afraid for her safety, the teller complied, turning over $4,650 to Chamberlain.
Chamberlain returned to the Wells Fargo Bank branch for the third time on Nov. 12, 2015. Once again he wore a mask, pointed what appeared to be a pistol at a teller, and directed all inside the bank to raise their hands above their heads. The teller provided $24,834 to Chamberlain. In addition to the money, however, the teller also gave Chamberlain a GPS tracking device. Chesterfield Police officers and the FBI followed the signal to Chamberlain’s residence, where they recovered the money Chamberlain had stolen from the Wells Fargo Bank earlier that day.
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; and Colonel Thierry G. Dupuis, Chief of the Chesterfield Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Miller prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16CR13.
Romanian Hacker “Guccifer” Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking CrimesRead the Press Release
Marcel Lehel Lazar, 44, of Arad, Romania, a hacker who used the online moniker “Guccifer,” pleaded guilty today to unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, Director Bill A. Miller of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) and Special Agent in Charge Brian J. Ebert of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
“Cybercriminals like Marcel Lazar believe they can act with impunity from safe havens abroad, but the Justice Department’s partnerships with law enforcement agencies around the world ensure that they can be brought to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Lazar sought fame by hacking the private online accounts of Americans and releasing their personal information to the public; instead, he has been convicted in United States federal court.”
“Mr. Lazar will be punished for violating the personal privacy of dozens of Americans,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “These convictions show that cybercriminals cannot hide from justice. The United States will vigorously pursue these offenders, wherever they may hide.”
“Marcel Lazar, who hacked under the moniker ‘Guccifer,’ has now been brought to justice before a United States court,” said Assistant Director in Charge Abbate. “As a direct result of our global technological and investigative reach and strong international partnerships, we were able to successfully identify Guccifer and his criminal activities, and bring him to justice here in America. The FBI will continue to relentlessly hunt down criminals in cyberspace and around the world. I would like to commend the dedicated efforts of the agents, analysts, prosecutors and international partners who worked tirelessly to resolve this highly complex cyber investigation.”
“The success of this international investigation is the direct result of our long established partnerships with our federal and foreign law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Ebert. “By working with our law enforcement partners around the world, we have disrupted and brought to justice some of the most prolific transnational cyber-criminals operating around the world. These continued partnerships will enable us to pursue cyber criminals wherever they operate.”
Lazar pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia, who set sentencing for Sept. 1, 2016.
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Lazar admitted that from at least October 2012 to January 2014, he intentionally gained unauthorized access to personal email and social media accounts belonging to approximately 100 Americans, and he did so to unlawfully obtain his victims’ personal information and email correspondence. His victims included an immediate family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former member of the U.S. Cabinet, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor, he admitted. Lazar admitted that in many instances, he publically released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information and personal photographs.
The FBI, DSS and the Secret Service investigated the case. Senior Counsel Ryan K. Dickey and Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided significant assistance. The Justice Department thanks the government of Romania for their assistance in this matter.
Romanian Hacker “Guccifer” Pleads Guilty to Computer Hacking CrimesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Marcel Lehel Lazar, 44, of Arad, Romania, a hacker who used the online moniker “Guccifer,” pleaded guilty today to unauthorized access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft.
“Mr. Lazar will be punished for violating the personal privacy of dozens of Americans,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “These convictions show that cybercriminals cannot hide from justice. The United States will vigorously pursue these offenders, wherever they may hide.”
“Cybercriminals like Marcel Lazar believe they can act with impunity from safe havens abroad, but the Justice Department's partnerships with law enforcement agencies around the world ensure that they can be brought to justice,” said Leslie Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Lazar sought fame by hacking the private online accounts of Americans and releasing their personal information to the public; instead he has been convicted in United States federal court.”
“Marcel Lazar, who hacked under the moniker ‘Guccifer,’ has now been brought to justice before a United States court,” said Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. “As a direct result of our global technological and investigative reach and strong international partnerships, we were able to successfully identify Guccifer and his criminal activities, and bring him to justice here in America. The FBI will continue to relentlessly hunt down criminals in cyberspace and around the world. I would like to commend the dedicated efforts of the agents, analysts, prosecutors, and international partners who worked tirelessly to resolve this highly complex cyber investigation.”
“The success of this international investigation is the direct result of our long established partnerships with our federal and foreign law enforcement partners,” said Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent In Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. “By working with our law enforcement partners around the world, we have disrupted and brought to justice some of the most prolific transnational cyber-criminals operating around the world. These continued partnerships will enable us to pursue cyber criminals wherever they operate.”
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Lazar admitted that from at least October 2012 to January 2014, he intentionally gained unauthorized access to personal email and social media accounts belonging to approximately 100 Americans, and he did so to unlawfully obtain his victims’ personal information and email correspondence. His victims included an immediate family member of two former U.S. presidents, a former member of the U.S. Cabinet, a former member of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former presidential advisor, he admitted. Lazar admitted that in many instances, he publically released his victims’ private email correspondence, medical and financial information and personal photographs.
Lazar was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2014, and will be sentenced on September 1, 2016. He faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison for the aggravated identity theft conviction, to be added to any sentence he receives on the conviction for unauthorized access to a protected computer, for which he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. 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; Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Bill A. Miller, Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS); and Brian J. Ebert, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu, and Senior Counsel Ryan K. Dickey and Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs has provided significant assistance. The Justice Department thanks the government of Romania for their assistance in this matter.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-213.
Heroin Dealer Pleads Guilty Drug Trafficking and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Michael Lanell Easley, Jr., 36, of Portsmouth, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to court documents, Easley was the subject of an undercover buy operation. He maintained a residence on Riverview Avenue in Portsmouth for the purpose of manufacturing and distributing heroin. On Nov. 23, 2015, federal agents and state law enforcement officers attempted to execute an arrest and search warrant related to Easley. As the agents and officers approached Easley, he ingested a significant amount of heroin. In an effort to save Easley’s life, an ambulance was called and he was rushed to the hospital. Easley came close to cardiac arrest several times during the trip, but doctors were able to stabilize him and he survived.
During the search of Easley’s home, agents and officers recovered heroin and a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. They also recovered digital scales and strainers commonly used to prepare heroin for sale.
Easley will be sentenced on September 21 and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. 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; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and James A. Cervera, Chief of Police, Virginia Beach Police Department, made the announcement after Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph E. DePadilla and Andrew C. Bosse, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Butler.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16-cr-44.
Heroin Dealer Sentenced to 35 Years for Overdose DeathRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Gregory Hatt, 29, of Virginia Beach, was sentenced today to 420 months in prison for distribution of heroin resulting in death.
“The heartbreak for the Beaudry family is a tragedy unfolding in nearly every community across our country,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “While justice cannot restore the Beaudry’s daughter to their family, law enforcement can continue to aggressively prosecute those who seek to prey upon vulnerable members of our community. Law enforcement, however, does not possess the complete answer. We must continue to strive for increases in opioid awareness, education, prevention and treatment so that our communities can ride themselves of this invasive agent of human misery.”
“Burying a child is every parent's worst nightmare and my heart breaks every time I meet a family, like the Beaudrys, that has lost a child to these powerful drugs,” said Mark Herring, Attorney General of Virginia. “These families have such love for their children and they mourn the promising future that men like Gregory Hatt took from them. Even after his drugs claimed a life and shattered a family, Hatt continued to deal heroin and profit from addiction, showing no remorse or recognition of the damage he was causing. As we work to build a comprehensive, community-wide effort to prevent addiction and educate Virginians about the dangers of heroin and prescription opioids, we will continue to partner with U.S. Attorney Boente and local law enforcement to get these deadly drugs off the streets and bring the dangerous criminals that deal them to justice.”
“The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who are driving the deadly heroin wave which is taking lives and destroying families in the Tidewater area, said Tim Quick, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office. “NCIS will use our unique authorities, resources and capabilities in combatting this growing problem, to help protect Sailors, Marines, Department of the Navy civilians and families, and the communities in which we work and live.”
According to court documents, Hatt sold heroin, cocaine, and other narcotics out of a rented house in Virginia Beach from December 2014 through July 2015. On Dec. 26, 2014, Hatt called Monica Beaudry, a 23-year-old Virginia Beach woman, to come to his house for what he described as “a birthday present.” Hatt distributed heroin to Beaudry and she subsequently displayed signs of an overdose by foaming at the mouth, exhibiting troubled breathing, and losing consciousness. Others at the house implored Hatt to call 911, but he refused. Approximately 40 minutes after displaying symptoms of overdose, Beaudry was driven to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Hatt became aware of Beaudry’s death, but continued to distribute heroin from his residence and from other Virginia Beach locations for the following seven months. In February 2015, he distributed heroin to an active duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed on an aircraft carrier in Norfolk. That sailor and another sailor on the carrier also overdosed. Both sailors were immediately treated by medical personnel and survived. On July 24, 2015, law enforcement agents with Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and officers with the Virginia Beach Police Department executed a search warrant on Hatt’s residence and recovered quantities of heroin, cocaine, various drug paraphernalia, and multiple firearms, including a loaded sawed-off shotgun.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia, Timothy Quick, Special Agent in Charge for the NCIS Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson announced the sentence. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alyssa Nichol and John F. Butler prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:15-cr-153.
Drug Dealer Indicted for Distribution of FentanylRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Eugene Deandre Tillery, 20, of Suffolk, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on seven counts of distributing Fentanyl, which is a very potent pain killer used in the medical profession.
According to the indictment, from Nov. 14, 2015 through Dec. 2, 2015, the DEA with assistance from the Suffolk Police Department conducted a series of controlled purchases from Tillery. The agents thought they were purchasing heroin from Tillery, but an analysis of the drugs by a laboratory revealed that the drugs were Fentanyl. The agents made six purchases from Tillery which ranged from 45 to 100 capsules per purchase.
“Even a small amount of fentanyl can be lethal,” said Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “There is a disturbing trend across the nation, including here in the Tidewater area, of heroin dealers adding fentanyl to their heroin to increase the potency. As a result, we have seen an alarming increase in overdoses, many of which have resulted in death. Arrests and criminal prosecutions alone will not solve this problem. We must continue to strive for increases in education, treatment, and prevention.”
“Drug dealers selling heroin-laced fentanyl or replacing the heroin entirely with fentanyl is an alarming trend and a tremendous threat to public safety,” said Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Washington Field Division. “There is no safe amount of fentanyl that can be bought on the street. We are seeing fentanyl and heroin related overdose deaths in record numbers across Virginia, as people from all walks of life are becoming addicted to these highly dangerous drugs. DEA will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, as exemplified in this investigation, to aggressively pursue those who ruthlessly traffic these drugs.”
“Like most cities across the nation, Suffolk has seen a dramatic increase in the number of heroin and fentanyl overdoses and deaths,” said Thomas Bennett, Chief of Police, Suffolk Police Department. “Addressing this issue has become a priority for our agency, not only from an enforcement perspective but also from an emergency treatment standpoint.”
Tillery faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, if convicted. 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; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the DEA’s Washington Field Division; and Thomas E. Bennett, Chief of Police, Suffolk Police Department, made the announcement after his arrest and initial appearance today. Assistant U.S. Attorney William D. Muhr is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:16cr77.
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.
Community Colleges Targeted in Financial Aid Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Ernest Xavier Taylor, Jr., 31, and Tracie Laverne Mixon, 34, both of Hammond, Louisiana, were indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges relating to stealing the identities of four people to fraudulently obtain federal student loans from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) and other schools.
According to the indictment, Taylor Jr. and Mixon are charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, financial aid fraud, and aggravated identity theft. In 2015, Taylor Jr. and Mixon engaged in a conspiracy to use the identity of four different people to fraudulently obtain federal student aid from NVCC and other schools. The four different people included three who were in prison at the time their identities were used, and the fourth person was recovering in a military hospital after suffering injuries while deployed as a member of the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.
The indictment alleges that Taylor Jr. and Mixon would use the names, dates of birth, and social security numbers of these four different people on various submissions, but Taylor Jr. and Mixon would supply their own addresses, emails, and telephone numbers to ensure that communications from the Department of Education, NVCC, and the other schools would be directed to Taylor Jr. and Mixon. The indictment also alleges that recorded telephone calls captured Taylor Jr. pretending to be the four different identities when calling to check on the status of financial aid from NVCC. Taylor Jr. and Mixon’s fraudulent actions allegedly caused NVCC and other schools to offer approximately $67,000 in federal student aid to the various identities used by Taylor Jr. and Mixon.
In addition to NVCC, the other schools targeted by Taylor Jr. and Mixon are: Front Range Community College; Community College of Denver; Portland Community College; and Black Hills State University.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian D. Harrison and Edward P. Sullivan are prosecuting the case. The case is being investigated by the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General and the FBI. The investigation received assistance from the Northern Virginia Community College Police Department.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-CR-118.
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.