Eastern District of Virginia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Former Virginia Governor and Former First Lady Convicted on Public Corruption ChargesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury returned guilty verdicts today against former Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell and former First Lady Maureen G. McDonnell for participating in a scheme to violate federal public corruption laws.
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; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, made the announcement.
Robert McDonnell and Maureen McDonnell, both 60 and of Glen Allen, Virginia, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right. Robert McDonnell was convicted of three counts of honest-services wire fraud and six counts of obtaining property under color of official right, while Maureen McDonnell was convicted on two of the three honest services wire fraud counts and five of the six counts of obtaining property under color of official right. Maureen McDonnell also was convicted of one count of obstruction of an official proceeding. In total, Robert McDonnell was convicted of 11 of 13 counts and Maureen McDonnell was convicted of 9 of 13 counts.
“This is a difficult and disappointing day for the Commonwealth of Virginia and its citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “When public officials turn to financial gain in exchange for official acts, we have no choice but to prosecute them. I thank the Assistant U.S. Attorneys, FBI, Virginia State Police, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation for their exceptional efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”
“As Virginia’s governor, Robert McDonnell and his wife turned public service into a money-making enterprise, abusing the commonwealth’s highest office to benefit a Virginia businessman in exchange for more than $170,000 in gifts and loans,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “In pursuit of a lifestyle that they could ill-afford, McDonnell and his wife eagerly accepted luxury items, designer clothes, free vacations and the businessman’s offer to pay the costs of their daughter’s wedding. In return, McDonnell put the weight of the governor’s mansion behind the businessman’s corporate interests. The former governor was elected to serve the people of Virginia, but his corrupt actions instead betrayed them. Today’s convictions should send a message that corruption in any form, at any level of government, will not be tolerated.”
“Public corruption, particularly among our elected officials, is the FBI’s highest criminal investigative priority,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Adam Lee. “We will engage and engage vigorously when we receive credible allegations of any federal, state, or local public official illegally using the power of their position to receive a personal benefit. The people of the Commonwealth deserve better than pay-to-play politics.”
“When public officials commit crimes as part of their official duties, they are violating the public trust,” said Richard Weber, Chief, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS-CI agents play a critical role in rooting out public corruption of elected officials. The public expects more of their leaders in government and our agents work tirelessly on their behalf to ensure that we are all playing by the same rules.”
According to the evidence presented at trial, from April 2011 through March 2013, the McDonnells participated in a scheme to use the former governor’s official position to enrich themselves and their family members by soliciting and obtaining payments, loans, gifts, and other things of value from Star Scientific, a Virginia-based corporation, and Jonnie R. Williams Sr., then Star Scientific’s chief executive officer. The McDonnells obtained the things of value in exchange for the former governor performing official actions on an as-needed basis to legitimize, promote, and obtain research studies for Star’s products, including the dietary supplement Anatabloc.
According to court records and evidence, the McDonnells obtained from Williams more than $170,000 in direct payments as gifts and loans, thousands of dollars in golf outings, and numerous other things of value. As part of the scheme, the official actions that Robert McDonnell performed included arranging meetings for Williams with Virginia government officials, hosting and attending events at the Governor’s Mansion designed to encourage Virginia university researchers to initiate studies of Star’s products and to promote Star’s products to doctors for referral to their patients, contacting other Virginia government officials as part of an effort to encourage Virginia state research universities to initiate studies of Star’s products, and promoting Star’s products and facilitating its relationships with Virginia government officials.
The evidence further showed that the McDonnells attempted to conceal the things of value received from Williams and Star to hide the nature and scope of their dealings with Williams from the citizens of Virginia by, for example, routing things of value through family members and corporate entities controlled by the former governor to avoid annual disclosure requirements.
Similarly, on Feb. 15, 2013, Maureen McDonnell was questioned by law enforcement about the loans and made false and misleading statements regarding the defendants’ relationship with Williams. Additionally, after her interview with law enforcement, Maureen McDonnell drafted a handwritten note to Williams in which she falsely attempted to make it appear that she and Williams had previously discussed and agreed that she would return certain designer luxury goods rather than keep them permanently, all as part of an effort to obstruct, influence, and impede the investigation.
As a result of the jury’s verdicts, the McDonnells could each face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss on the conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud count, the honest-services wire fraud counts, the conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right count, and the obtaining property under color of official right counts; and a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss on the obstruction of an official proceeding count.
The maximum statutory sentences outlined above are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. Dry, Jessica D. Aber, and Ryan S. Faulconer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Deputy Chief David V. Harbach II of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI, IRS-CI, and the Virginia State 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. 3:14-cr-12.
Colombian National Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping and Murder of DEA Agent Terry WatsonRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Colombian man extradited to the Eastern District of Virginia pleaded guilty today for his involvement in the kidnap and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James Terry Watson in Bogotà, Colombia, on June 20, 2013.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder, 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 George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and Director Bill A. Miller of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) made the announcement.
“Special Agent Watson gave his life in the service of his country, and we will do everything in our power to honor his sacrifice,” said Attorney General Holder. “This conviction is a critical step forward. But while this action represents the first measure of justice for his kidnapping and murder, it will not be the last. The Department of Justice will not rest until all those involved in this senseless act of violence have been held to account for their crimes. Our nation will never yield in the protection and defense of its citizens. And we will continue to demonstrate that anyone who seeks to harm an American will be found, will be prosecuted, and will be brought to justice.”
Julio Estiven Gracia Ramirez, 31, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia to aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person and conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person. Gracia Ramirez faces a maximum penalty of any term of years in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 5, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Gracia Ramirez admitted that he and his conspirators agreed to conduct a “paseo milionario” or “millionaire’s ride” in which victims who were perceived as wealthy were lured into taxi cabs, kidnapped and then robbed. Gracia Ramirez admitted that he targeted Special Agent Watson and picked him up outside a Bogotà restaurant in his taxi. Soon after, two conspirators entered Gracia Ramirez’s taxi, and one used a stun gun to shock Special Agent Watson and the other stabbed him. Special Agent Watson was able to escape from the taxi, but he later collapsed and died from his injuries.
Six other defendants have been charged in an indictment in the Eastern District of Virginia for their alleged involvement in the murder of Special Agent Watson. Gerardo Figueroa Sepulveda, 39; Omar Fabian Valdes Gualtero, 27; Edgar Javier Bello Murillo, 27; Hector Leonardo Lopez, 34; and Andrés Alvaro Oviedo-Garcia, 22, are each charged with second degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. Oviedo-Garcia is also charged with assault. Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 31, is charged for his alleged efforts to destroy evidence associated with the murder of Special Agent Watson. Trial is set for Jan. 12, 2015.
The charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the FBI, DEA and DSS, in close cooperation with Colombian authorities and with assistance from INTERPOL and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. The case is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Stacey Luck of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, Colombian National Police, Colombian Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN), DIJIN Special Investigative Unit, Bogotà Metropolitan Police, Bogotà Police Intelligence Body (CIPOL) Unit and Colombian Technical Investigation Team for their extraordinary efforts, support and professionalism in responding to this incident.
Richmond Store Owner Pleads Guilty in Cigarette and Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Mohamed Seid Ahmed Mohamed, 56, of North Chesterfield, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to traffic in contraband cigarettes.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge David J. Novak.
Mohamed was charged with the conspiracy on August 25, 2014, in a one-count criminal information. He faces a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment, full restitution, and a fine of $250,000, when he is sentenced on December 11, 2014 before Senior United States District Judge Robert E. Payne.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Mohamed was the owner and operator of The Cigarette Club, LLC, a cigarette retail store in Richmond, Virginia, doing business under the name City Cigarettes. From June 2011 to Jan. 2014, Mohamed and his co-conspirators purchased over 440,000 cartons—worth approximately $19.8 million—of various brands of cigarettes at wholesale stores in the Richmond area using multiple membership accounts. In making the purchases, Mohamed and his co-conspirators certified that the cigarettes would be resold through Mohamed’s retail business. As a result, Mohamed and his co-conspirators were able to purchase the cigarettes without paying the applicable Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax. However, at the time of each purchase, Mohamed and his co-conspirators intended to sell, and ultimately did sell, the overwhelming majority of the cigarettes to individuals who they knew were transporting the cigarettes to jurisdictions outside of the Commonwealth of Virginia for resale as untaxed cigarettes. Mohamed and his co-conspirators never intended to and, in fact, did not collect or pay, the applicable Virginia Retail Sales and Use Tax for the cigarettes purchased at the wholesaler. The activity of the conspiracy resulted in lost sales tax revenue to the Commonwealth of Virginia in the amount of $1,009,046.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, with assistance from the Multi-Jurisdictional Special Operations Group. Assistant United States Attorney Dominick S. Gerace is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Norfolk Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Identities and Filing False Income Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Donte Demus, 26, of Norfolk, Va., pleaded guilty today in Norfolk federal court to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his role in a scheme to steal identities and file false income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. Demus will be sentenced on December 4, 2014 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years and a maximum sentence of 22 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, Demus, along with two other conspirators, devised a scheme by which they stole the identities of individuals and used them to file false income tax returns with the IRS. Demus obtained a number of identities from Travis Hager, a co-conspirator who was incarcerated in the Virginia Beach jail. Demus passed these identities to a third co-conspirator who actually filed the false returns. The refunds were then sent on a prepaid debit card to Demus at an address in Norfolk, Virginia. According to the indictment, Demus and his co-conspirators attempted to fraudulently obtain in excess of $163,000 in fraudulent tax refunds. As part of his plea agreement, Demus agreed to make restitution to the United States Treasury.
Travis Hager previously pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme on June 4, 2014. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 1, 2014.
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Kosky prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.New York Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Jeffrey Washington, 36, of New York, NY, pled guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U. S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen.
Washington was charged in a criminal indictment returned on May 12, 2014, with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, ten counts of bank fraud, seven counts of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of interstate transportation of property converted or taken by fraud. Washington faces a maximum penalty of thirty (30) years in prison on the bank fraud charge and a $1,000,000 fine, and a maximum penalty of a mandatory two (2) years in prison on the aggravated identity theft charge and a fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced on December 5, 2014, in Norfolk.
According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Washington was a leader of a group that conspired to steal identity and financial information from Wells Fargo Mortgage offices. There were twelve Wells Fargo offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey that were the subject of burglaries from 2012 through 2014. Over 1,800 mortgage files were stolen that contained identity and financial information. The Wells Fargo mortgage customers had bank accounts at various financial institutions including Wells Fargo Bank, M&T Bank, PNC Bank, Capital One Bank, and TD Bank.
From 2012 – 2013, Washington and other conspirators traveled from New York to Virginia and other states along the East Coast in order to conduct the scheme. They impersonated various bank customers, using counterfeit identifications created from the stolen personal information, and opened business accounts in fake business names in order to drain legitimate customer accounts at various banks of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In August 2013, conspirator Alice Howard was arrested in the course of impersonating a bank customer at a Wells Fargo bank branch in Ashland, Virginia. Howard was charged with the same scheme and was sentenced to sixty-five (65) months imprisonment in April 2014. Following Howard’s arrest, Washington continued his involvement in obtaining mortgage files through the burglaries of other mortgage offices. Currently, two other individuals have been charged in the scheme.
This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Newport News Police Department. Assistant U. S. Attorney Brian Samuels is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Tweet
Fourth Grade Teacher Sentenced to 10 Years for Enticing and Coercing A 15-Year-Old Girl During Sexually Explicit Online ChatsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A fourth grade teacher from Charlottesville, Virginia was sentenced today to ten years in prison, followed by ten years of supervised release, for enticing and coercing a 15-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit online chats.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Timothy A. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; Timothy J. Longo, Charlottesville Chief of Police; and Stephan M. Hudson, Prince William County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Corey Schock, 44, pleaded guilty on June 12, 2014 to online coercion and enticement of a minor. According to court documents, Schock engaged in sexually explicit online chats with a 15-year-old female who lived in Woodbridge, Virginia using the Kik Interactive, Skype, and SnapChat programs. In those chats, Schock sent the girl several sexually explicit pictures of himself, and he requested that she send him sexually explicit pictures. In response, the girl sent Schock pictures and videos of herself engaging in sexually explicit behavior. Schock and the girl also discussed meeting in person to engage in sexual activity, and both specifically referred to their respective ages during online chats.
According to court records and proceedings, Schock engaged in similar conduct over a two-year period with numerous underage girls, 18 of whom have been positively identified by the FBI to date.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County, Charlottesville, and Prince William County police departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt J. Gardner 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. 1:14-cr-196.
Arlington Doctor and Five Conspirators Indicted with Operating Oxycodone Distribution RingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arlington, Virginia doctor and five co-conspirators were indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for operating an oxycodone distribution ring in which the participants allegedly wrote, filled, and sold fraudulent prescriptions for over 11,000 oxycodone pills and other controlled substances throughout Virginia and in other states.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Timothy A. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement.
The six indicted defendants reside in Virginia and include Dr. Derron McRae Simon, 45, of Midlothian; Donald Alvin Petties, 51, of Sterling; Ereida Arlett Escobar, 23, of Falls Church; Linda Dao, 21, of Arlington; Michael Harris, 21, of Falls Church; and Aaron Kwon, 29, of Manassas. All six defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and one or more counts of possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. Simon also is charged with three counts of distributing a controlled substance to persons under the age of 21, and both Simon and Petties are charged with one count of aggravated identity fraud.
According to the nine-count indictment, from January 2013 until around July 2014, Simon was the chief medical director, and often the primary or only medical doctor, at WithinMe MD, a wellness practice in Arlington. From November 2008 until July 2014, Simon’s medical license was restricted by the Virginia Board of Medicine after having either been suspended or placed on probation. Simon’s license was summarily suspended on July 11, 2014.
According to court records, beginning in February 2013, Simon and the other five defendants conspired to distribute oxycodone throughout Virginia and other states. Simon allegedly wrote and sold hundreds of prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances, despite knowing that the individuals in whose names the prescriptions were written were abusing, misusing, distributing, and/or selling the drugs. Simon allegedly had never met many of these purported patients, and he also wrote prescriptions in the names of his five co-conspirators, as well as friends, relatives, and fictitious individuals.
According to the indictment, Simon directed Escobar, a receptionist and medical assistant at Simon’s practice, to confirm calls from pharmacists seeking to verify his oxycodone prescriptions. Simon also allegedly directed Escobar to create fraudulent patient history forms and medical records to make it appear that these individuals were actually legitimate patients. Around May 2013, Simon purchased a pill press so that he and Petties allegedly could make homemade oxycodone tablets without having to go through pharmacies.
The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to distribute well over 11,000 oxycodone 30 mg pills, for a total value of over $735,000. For each fraudulent prescription, Simon and/or Escobar received approximately $500 to $1,000.
Each of the defendants faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted of the charged conspiracy or possession offenses. Additionally, Simon faces a mandatory minimum sentence of one year and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison if convicted of distributing oxycodone to a person under the age of 21. Simon and Petties also face a mandatory two-year consecutive term in prison if convicted of aggravated identity fraud.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason M. Scheff and Allison Ickovic are prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-300.
Petersburg Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Shawn Rives, 33, of Petersburg, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 210 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and John I. Dixon III, Petersburg Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.
Rives was indicted on Oct. 16, 2013 on two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly known as “crack,” and three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride. When Rives failed to appear at his arraignment on the charges on Nov. 7, 2013, the court issued a warrant for his arrest. Rives remained a fugitive until Feb. 25, 2014, when the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force, in conjunction with the FBI, arrested Rives at an apartment complex in Richmond, Virginia. According to an affidavit filed in the case, as the Fugitive Task Force agents made entry into the apartment, Rives kicked through the drywall of a closet in the residence, squeezed through the wall, and entered the adjacent apartment through the bedroom closet, where he attempted to hide.
Rives pleaded guilty on May 22, 2014 to distributing crack cocaine. According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed search warrants in March and October 2012 at residences in Petersburg where Rives was staying, or that were associated with him. At both locations, authorities recovered cocaine, chemicals used to prepare cocaine for sale, digital scales, baggies for distribution, and U.S. currency from the sale of cocaine. In addition, in June 2012, during a search incident to the arrest of Rives, officers recovered cocaine and $2,472 from Rives, along with additional cocaine and a digital scale from a vehicle.
In a statement of facts filed with his guilty plea, Rives admitted that he distributed at least five kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and between one kilogram and 2.8 kilograms of cocaine base during 2013.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Petersburg Bureau of Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-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. 3:13-cr-175.
Petersburg Cocaine Trafficker Sentenced to over 17 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Shawn Rives, 33, of Petersburg, Virginia, was sentenced yesterday to 210 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and John I. Dixon III, Petersburg Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer.
Rives was indicted on Oct. 16, 2013 on two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly known as “crack,” and three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride. When Rives failed to appear at his arraignment on the charges on Nov. 7, 2013, the court issued a warrant for his arrest. Rives remained a fugitive until Feb. 25, 2014, when the U.S. Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force, in conjunction with the FBI, arrested Rives at an apartment complex in Richmond, Virginia. According to an affidavit filed in the case, as the Fugitive Task Force agents made entry into the apartment, Rives kicked through the drywall of a closet in the residence, squeezed through the wall, and entered the adjacent apartment through the bedroom closet, where he attempted to hide.
Rives pleaded guilty on May 22, 2014 to distributing crack cocaine. According to court documents, law enforcement officers executed search warrants in March and October 2012 at residences in Petersburg where Rives was staying, or that were associated with him. At both locations, authorities recovered cocaine, chemicals used to prepare cocaine for sale, digital scales, baggies for distribution, and U.S. currency from the sale of cocaine. In addition, in June 2012, during a search incident to the arrest of Rives, officers recovered cocaine and $2,472 from Rives, along with additional cocaine and a digital scale from a vehicle.
In a statement of facts filed with his guilty plea, Rives admitted that he distributed at least five kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and between one kilogram and 2.8 kilograms of cocaine base during 2013.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Petersburg Bureau of Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea-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. 3:13-cr-175.
McLean Business Managers and Strayer University Official Convicted, Sentenced for Large-Scale Immigration FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two managers of McLean, Virginia-based Integrated Academics and a former admissions official for Strayer University have been convicted of conspiring to create fraudulent transcripts so that foreign students would appear eligible to retain their student visas in the United States.
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, D.C., made the announcement.
Mohamad Yousef Tellawi, 34, of Falls Church, Virginia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III to 22 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for participating in the immigration document fraud conspiracy. Co-conspirators Lea Dzhin, 37, of Falls Church, Virginia, and Maher Khudari, 28, of Arlington, Virginia, previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy. Tellawi and Dzhin also were ordered to forfeit $265,000 in proceeds from the fraud, and Khudari was ordered to forfeit $30,747.65.
According to court records, Tellawi and Dzhin are managers of Integrated Academics, a company that caters to international students and touts itself as offering a full range of services for students, including securing college admissions and providing academic advising and tutoring.
From about November 2012 to October 2013, Tellawi and Dzhin conspired with Khudari, an admissions official at Strayer University, to fraudulently create at least 58 official Strayer University transcripts in order to help clients of Integrated Academics retain their F-1 non-immigrant student visas and remain in the United States. Tellawi then would complete the necessary paperwork containing the fraudulent transcripts and meet with school officials on behalf of Integrated Academics’ student clients. In addition, Tellawi and Dzhin would facilitate their clients’ continued presence as student visa holders by hiring people to take online classes, write papers and take tests for the clients.
This investigation was conducted by ICE-HSI, with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, Northern Virginia Community College Police Department, and Strayer University. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle is prosecuting this case, with assistance from Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys William P. Jauquet and David Tyler.
Anyone with information concerning immigration fraud involving international students is urged to contact ICE-HSI’s tipline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by email through the website www.ice.gov.
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-136.
# # #Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Fraudulently Obtain Counterfeit Green Cards and Social Security CardsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Mauricio Florian-Polanco, a 39-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala who was residing in Manassas, Virginia, pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy to commit immigration document fraud.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Washington (HSI); and Douglas Keen, Chief of the City of Manassas Police Department, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.
Florian-Polanco faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on Dec. 12, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Florian-Polanco admitted to conspiring with others to falsely make Social Security cards and alien registration receipt cards, more commonly known as Green Cards, for individuals whom he believed were illegal immigrants on at least 50 occasions. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Florian-Polanco would meet with individuals who were looking to obtain counterfeit documents, including government agents acting in an undercover capacity, and take their biographic information. Florian-Polanco then would meet with a co-conspirator who would, in turn, create the counterfeit documents.
This case was investigated by ICE-HSI and the City of Manassas Police Department, with assistance from the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Alexandria Bogle 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. 1:14-cr-283.
Leader of Guatemalan Drug Trafficking Organization Indicted for Conspiring to Import and Distribute Heroin and CocaineRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A leader of a drug trafficking organization based in Guatemala, along with a U.S.-based associate, were indicted by a federal grand jury today for participating in a conspiracy to import and distribute multiple kilograms of heroin and cocaine into the United States.
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 Washington (HSI), made the announcement.
Lelo Sandoval, 47, of Jalapa, Guatemala, and Cesar Duran, 55, of Chicago, Illinois, were indicted on four counts of conspiracy to import and distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and at least five kilograms of cocaine. Sandoval and Duran each face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
According to the indictment, from late 2009 until September 2013, Sandoval served as a leader of a drug trafficking organization in Guatemala that imported heroin and cocaine from Guatemala and Honduras into the United States through the use of human couriers. The couriers often traveled on commercial airliners that landed in various U.S. airports, including Dulles, JFK and O’Hare, and they smuggled the drugs within their luggage in containers marked as containing food and drinks—for example, juice boxes, refried beans and powdered milk. The couriers also drove vehicles carrying concealed heroin and cocaine over the U.S.-Mexico border, while other packages were delivered through the U.S. mail system.
After importation, the heroin and cocaine would be distributed and sold in the United States by members of the drug trafficking organization. The indictment identifies ten occasions from late 2009 through March 2013 in which members of the conspiracy smuggled or attempted to smuggle at least 28 kilograms of heroin and 13 kilograms of cocaine. In September 2013, Sandoval and Duran were arrested together in Guatemala while in possession of several kilograms of heroin.
This case was investigated by ICE-HSI, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs and Border Protection. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine S. Ahn and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Fahey are prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-289.
Fredericksburg Tax Preparer Sentenced to 37 Months in $598,000 Tax FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Daniel L. Jones, age 56, of Fredericksburg, Virginia was sentenced today to 37 months’ imprisonment for aiding in the preparation of fraudulent tax returns for his clients and making a false statement to the Internal Revenue Service.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Kelly, of the Internal Revenue Service, Washington Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Robert M. Geary of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the sentencing before United States District Judge Robert E. Payne.
According to court documents, Jones ran a tax preparation service for many years in Fredericksburg called the Tax Doctor Plus. To increase refunds for his clients, Jones regularly prepared and electronically filed tax returns that contained false entries and items. These included: (a) improperly splitting married couples into incorrect filings statuses in order to place both taxpayers into lower tax brackets and create earned income credit opportunities for both; (b) filing false Schedules C, Business Income or Loss, with enough false deductions so that the client would qualify for the earned income tax credit; (c) submitting false Schedule A expenses and education credits when there was no basis to claim such deductions or credits; and (d) false income with false W-2’s to qualify the taxpayers for the maximum amount of government credits, such as the earned income credit, various education credits, and the making work pay credit.In addition, in order to represent his clients before the Internal Revenue Service, Jones submitted to the IRS false Forms 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative) on which he falsely claimed he was a certified public accountant. He has agreed that the total tax loss from 2009 to 2012 is approximately $598,000. This amount was based on approximately 630 returns containing false educational credits.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney David T. Maguire is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 3:14-cr-049.
D.C. Heroin Dealer Convicted at TrialRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Antowan Thorne, also known as “Smooth,” 37, of Washington, D.C., was convicted yesterday of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin following a bench trial before U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. At least one individual died in Fairfax County, Virginia after using heroin provided by Thorne.
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 for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement.
According to the evidence presented at trial, during 2012 and 2013, Thorne conspired with others to distribute extremely potent heroin, largely to customers from northern Virginia. On Aug. 21, 2013, four individuals from northern Virginia, including 16-year-old Emily Lonczak and Kyle Alifom, traveled to Washington, D.C. to purchase heroin from Thorne. After using the heroin, Lonczak became unconscious and later died of a heroin overdose.
Alifom previously pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence for hiding Lonczak’s body after her overdose death. Alifom was sentenced to 80 months in prison. Thorne will be sentenced on Nov. 14, 2014.
This case was investigated by the DEA’s Washington Field Division and the Fairfax County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary and Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc J. Birnbaum 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. 1:14-cr-165.
Falls Church Man Indicted for Sex Trafficking 17-Year-Old Runaway GirlRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Alan Cooley, 34, of Falls Church, Virginia, was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday for engaging in the sex trafficking of a child and transporting a minor across state lines for prostitution.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement.
According to court records, on March 26, 2014, the FBI was alerted that the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’sOffice had received a tip that a juvenile female allegedly was engaged in prostitution for a pimp known as “Midas,” later identified as Cooley. In the early morning hours of March 26, law enforcement located the juvenile in a hotel room in Dumfries, Virginia. During a subsequent interview, the juvenile revealed that she had run away from her home in North Carolina and had been recruited initially by a pimp in Charlotte to engage in prostitution. After two weeks of working for the Charlotte pimp, the juvenile allegedly was transported by Cooley to Fredericksburg, Virginia to engage in further prostitution.
According to court records, once Cooley, the juvenile and another adult prostitute arrived in Virginia, Cooley allegedly posted advertisements for the juvenile in the escorts section on Backpage.com. Cooley also is alleged to have used physical force and threats of violence against the juvenile, including hitting her in the face multiple times when the juvenile refused to engage in certain sex acts with a customer. When police first knocked on the Dumfries hotel room where Cooley and the juvenile were staying on March 26, Cooley is alleged to have violently prevented the victim from opening the door and threatened to kill her if she talked to the police.
Cooleyfaces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, with assistance from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office and the Prince William County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather L. Hart is prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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. 3:14-cr-110.
Former Hotel Broker Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for $55 Million Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The president of an international hotel brokerage firm was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for conducting a wide-ranging set of multi-million dollar fraud schemes involving the sale of several hotel properties.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Timothy A. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the defendant was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
Robert Timothy Koger, 48, formerly of Oakton, Virginia, was the president and sole owner of Molinaro-Koger, an international hotel real estate brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Koger pleaded guilty on Jan. 16, 2014 to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court records, the charges arose from three separate schemes executed by Koger, which resulted in losses exceeding $55 million. The first scheme involved Koger’s illegal flipping of hotels and promissory notes securing hotels in which Host Hotels and Resorts, L.P. (“Host”) and others were victims. In the second fraud, Koger executed a Ponzi scheme to steal and launder funds received from prospective buyers of hotels that were to be held in escrow while Koger negotiated with the hotel’s owners regarding the terms of the sale. In the third scheme, Koger defrauded a Tampa, Florida-based physician and businessman in connection with the latter’s ownership of a hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In the first scheme, after Koger was hired by Host as a broker to sell two of its hotels, Koger located legitimate buyers for the properties at a fair market price. Rather than selling the hotels directly to the legitimate buyers, however, Koger recruited straw buyers controlled by him to whom he arranged the sale of the hotels by Host for considerably less than the legitimate buyers had agreed. The straw buyers then immediately turned around and sold the hotels to the legitimate buyers at the higher price previously arranged by Koger. Koger pocketed the difference between the legitimate purchase price and the straw buyer’s price, plus the commissions that Host paid Koger for arranging the “front end” sales with the straw buyers. In a similar manner, Koger defrauded Host by having a straw buyer purchase promissory notes securing European hotel properties in which Host was interested. The straw buyer then resold the notes to Host for considerably more than it paid for them. In total, Koger defrauded Host of over $22 million.In the second fraud scheme, Koger received deposits from prospective buyers of hotels that were to be held in escrow while Koger negotiated with the hotel’s owners regarding the terms of the sale. Contrary to his representations to the prospective buyers, Koger was not actually holding their funds in escrow. Instead, he used their funds to pay for personal and business expenses, including to repay prospective buyers whose funds previously were purportedly held in escrow by Koger.
Finally, Koger defrauded “K.P.,” a Tampa-based investor who owned the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Pittsburgh. A management firm that held a promissory note secured by the hotel decided to sell the note, and K.P. submitted an offer to buy the note for less than its face value. In what is described in court records as a “walk-away fraud,” Koger used an alias (“Rick Thompson”) to contact K.P. about his bid for the hotel’s promissory note. As part of this process, Koger (acting as “Rick Thompson”) falsely claimed to K.P. that “Thompson” had submitted a higher bid for the note than K.P.’s bid, but “Thompson” then offered to withdraw his bid if K.P. paid “Thompson” $2.5 million to walk away from his purportedly higher bid. After K.P. paid off “Thompson,” Koger used a different alias (“John Stern”) to contact K.P. again about the property. In what is described in court records as a “break-up fraud,” “Stern” falsely offered to buy the hotel from K.P., but then threatened to sue K.P. over an alleged breach of contract related to the sale, unless K.P. agreed to pay “Stern” $15 million.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael E. Rich and Chad I. Golder 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. 1:14-cr-18.
Suffolk Woman Sentenced to 15 Years for Her Role in Conspiracy to Produce Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Sierra Danyelle Halsey, 23, of Suffolk, Virginia, was sentenced today to 15 years in prison, followed by lifetime supervised release, for production of child pornography and obstruction of justice.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.
Halsey pleaded guilty on May 5, 2014. According to court documents, Halsey became involved in the conspiracy when she was contacted by coconspirator Robert Harold Scott, Jr. under his assumed online identity of “Mike Pyro.” Scott would routinely communicate with women in and around the Tidewater area to set up “sex parties,” where the women would work as prostitutes and Scott would pay them for their services. In reality, Scott would not pay them and sometimes would extort the women by threatening to publish sexually explicit videos. In addition to the adult parties, Scott was found to be conspiring with and producing child pornography with several different women, including Halsey. Law enforcement found that, when discussing the sex parties, sometimes Scott would request these women to produce child pornography and was very specific as to the sex acts he wanted done on camera. Halsey complied in return for the promise of money. Specifically, Halsey produced child pornography on several occasions with a 1 year old and a 5 year old. Halsey also obstructed justice by deleting electronic evidence at the behest of Scott after he was arrested in the Fall of 2013.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov
DC Man Sentenced to 30 Years and 1 Day for A String of Jewelry Store Robberies in Baltimore, Spotsylvania and RichmondRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Lamar Keith Garvin, 49 years old, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 30 years and 1 day in prison for his role in a string of armed jewelry store robberies.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Carl J. Vasilko, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the sentence was imposed by United States District Judge John A. Gibney.
A federal grand jury indicted Garvin on August, 20, 2013, on charges of Attempted Interference with Commerce by Robbery and Using and Carrying a Firearm During and In Relation to a Felony Crime of Violence arising out of the January 12, 2013, attempted robbery of the Zales Jewelry Store at Spotsylvania Towne Center. He was arrested on November 4, 2013 and held without bond pending trial. On January 21, 2014, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Conspiracy to Interfere with Commerce by Robbery, three additional counts of Interference with Commerce by Robbery and a second charge of Using, Carrying and Brandishing a Firearm During and In Relation to a Felony Crime of Violence.
On May 12, 2014, after opening statements on day-one of his jury trial, Garvin pled guilty to all of the charges in the superseding indictment.
In a proffer of facts made in support of the plea, Garvin admitted that he had committed the crimes charged in the superseding indictment. Specifically, Garvin admitted that between September 2012 and March 25, 2013, he and his coconspirators agreed to rob a number of jewelry stores in the Baltimore, Maryland and Spotsylvania and Richmond, Virginia areas. Garvin admitted that on September 12, 2012, he and Michael Richardson robbed the Zales Jewelry Store in Baltimore County, Maryland and stole approximately $115,499 worth of jewelry. Garvin further admitted that on November 13, 2012, he, Richardson and another coconspirator robbed at gun point the Kay Jewelers in Short Pump Mall, in Henrico County, and stole approximately $341,718 worth of jewelry. Garvin further admitted that on January 12, 2013, he, Richardson and Veronica Smith attempted to rob the Zales at the Spotsylvania Towne Center, but their attempt was foiled by a clerk who apprehended Michael Richardson. Richardson was armed with a firearm during that robbery attempt. Garvin further admitted that on February 18, 2013, he and two other coconspirators robbed the Littman Jewelers in Short Pump Mall, Henrico, County, at gun point and stole $125,000 worth of jewelry. Garvin admitted also that on March 25, 2013, he and two coconspirators robbed the Fink’s Jewelers located at Stony Point, in Richmond, Virginia at gunpoint, and stole approximately $400,000 worth of jewelry.
Two of Garvin’s coconspirators, Michael Richardson, 49, of Washington, D.C., and Veronica Smith, 54, of Washington, D.C. were sentenced earlier this year for their roles in the robberies. Richardson was sentenced to 15 years for his role in three robberies. Smith, who was only involved in one attempted robbery, was sentenced to 87 months of imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the ATF, Henrico County Police Department, Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Department and the City of Richmond Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Olivia L. Norman is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 3:13-cr-141.
Co-Founder of Government Contracting Company Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gratuity ChargeRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Timothy S. Miller, 58, a co-founder of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, pleaded guilty today to providing illegal gratuities to two public officials working for the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.
United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after Miller’s guilty plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, in February 2009, Miller, along with his business partner, Dwayne A. Hardman, co-founded a government contracting company that was designed to provide telecommunications support to the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy.
At his plea hearing, Miller admitted that he provided illegal gratuities to two public officials for, or because of, favorable official acts. On May 12, 2009, Miller provided $30,000 in cash to Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., a government contractor who worked with Toy at the Military Sealift Command Headquarters. On May 14, 2009, Miller agreed that another $20,000 cash payment be delivered to Toy and Miserendino by Hardman.
According to Miller’s statement of facts, Toy exercised substantial influence over the Military Sealift Command contracting process, by creating and executing multi-million dollar budgets, obtaining funding for projects, developing and having access to sensitive information, and requesting that subcontract work be awarded to particular companies. As a result of the $50,000 payment, Miserendino and Toy performed various official acts to assist Miller’s company. Indeed, in 2009, Miller’s company received approximately $2.5 million in business from the Military Sealift Command.
As a condition of his plea agreement, Miller has agreed to forfeit $167,000.
Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014. He faces a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison.
Earlier this year, six other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On February 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000. On February 18, 2014, Hardman pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 9, 2014 to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000. On February 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on August 5, 2014, to 36 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On March 5, 2014, Roderic J. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on June 23, 2014, to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000. On April 4, 2014, Adam C. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On August 12, 2014, Scott B. Miserendino, Sr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and accepting bribes and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Leader of Sovereign Citizen Group Convicted of Causing the Impersonation of Diplomats and Producing False IDsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – James T. McBride, 60, of Columbus, Ohio, the self-proclaimed leader of a group known as “Divine Province,” was convicted today by a federal jury of conspiracy, causing the impersonation of a diplomat and producing false identification documents.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Clark 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 accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.McBride was indicted on May 14, 2014, by a federal grand jury of one count of conspiracy, one count of causing the impersonation of a diplomat and four counts of producing false identification documents. According to the evidence at trial, McBride was the leader of a sovereign citizen group called “Divine Province,” whose members claimed the U.S. government was a “municipal corporation” that did not have authority over them. McBride produced and distributed false diplomatic identification cards to his group’s members, and he encouraged them to make claims of diplomatic immunity to avoid arrest, debts or taxes. None of the group’s members were in fact accredited diplomats.
McBride started selling the identification cards in September 2012 at a seminar he organized in Herndon, Virginia. Afterwards, he started selling the IDs from a website and shipping them around the country.McBride sold the IDs in pairs, one that identified the holder as a “Universal Post Office Diplomat” and another that purported to be an “International Diplomatic Driver Permit,” for approximately $200. The defendant also encouraged his members to send copies of the IDs to governmental agencies to notify them of a member’s “status” as a diplomat. The defendant claimed that his authority to issue the IDs came from the Vatican. The defendant also gave a televised interview on ABC News prior to the filing of charges in the case, in which he reiterated such claims. During the course of the charged conduct, the defendant’s organization earned close to $500,000.
McBride faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, ten years for the count of causing the impersonation of a diplomat, and five years for each count of producing a false identification document.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with significant assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Johnston and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta S. Stojilkovic 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. 1:14-cr-175.
Northern Virginia Dermatologist Charged with Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
**UPDATE** Nov. 30, 2015 - Dr. Bajoghli was found not guilty on all counts after a 16-day trial. Original press release announcing the indictment is below.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Amir Bajoghli, 44, of McLean, Virginia—a dermatologist, the owner of the Skin & Laser Surgery Center and a former Washingtonian magazine “Top Doctor”—was indicted by a federal grand jury today on 60 counts of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft and obstruction of justice.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Timothy A. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Nicholas DiGiulio, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(HHS); Robert Craig, Special Agent in Charge for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office; and Patrick E. McFarland, Inspector General of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), made the announcement.
According to the indictment, from 2009 to 2012, Bajoghli defrauded various health care benefit programs through his medical practice, the Skin and Laser Surgery Center, which had offices in Stafford, Woodbridge and Vienna, Virginia, and in Washington, D.C.
First, the indictment charges that Bajoghli intentionally misdiagnosed patients with skin cancer, performed unnecessary and invasive Mohs micrographic surgery on patients’ benign skin tissue and submitted claims to health care benefit programs on the basis of fraudulent skin cancer diagnosis codes and false certifications that the procedures had been medically necessary for the health of the patients. According to the indictment, Bajoghli also at times billed health care benefit programs for Mohs surgeries that he did not in fact perform. Bajoghli also allegedly directed his staff to improperly dispose of medical waste at his practices.
Second, the indictment charges that Bajoghli directed his unlicensed and unqualified medical assistants to perform wound closures, including complex suturing and skin grafts, on Mohs surgery patients at follow-up office visits. The indictment alleges that during these procedures, Bajoghli was seeing patients at other office locations and critical decisions regarding patient care were left to the medical assistants’ judgment. In addition, the procedures were fraudulently billed to health care benefit programs as if Bajoghli had performed or personally supervised the procedures. The obstruction of justice charge alleges that, during the course of the government’s investigation, Bajoghli directed his office staff to tell inquiring patients that he had personally performed their wound closures, regardless of whether that was in fact true.
Third, the indictment charges that Bajoghli fraudulently billed health care benefit programs under his provider number for services rendered by his nurse practitioner and physician’s assistant when he was not present at the office where the services were provided. Bajoghli is alleged to have fraudulently certified to health care benefit programs that he had personally provided or personally and immediately supervised the services. The alleged conduct, at times, amounted to Bajoghli fraudulently billing as if he was seeing patients at three locations at once.
Finally, the indictment charges that Bajoghli defrauded health care benefit programs with respect to billing for the preparation and evaluation of permanent section biopsy slides. The indictment alleges that Bajoghli paid an Ohio company approximately $5 per slide to prepare the slides and a Connecticut dermatopathologist approximately $10 per slide to evaluate them, render diagnoses and prepare pathology reports. According to the indictment, Bajoghli and the dermatopathologist falsely represented the reports as Bajoghli’s work product to allow the dermatopathologist to avoid malpractice exposure, and Bajoghli fraudulently billed both the preparation and evaluation of the specimens at up to $450 per slide as if he had performed both services.
If convicted, Bajoghlifaces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison on each health care fraud count, a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for each of the aggravated identity theft counts, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the obstruction of justice count.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, HHS’s Office of the Inspector General, DCIS and OPM’s Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson is prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-278.
Former United States Navy Military Sealift Command Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bribery and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., 55, a former contractor for the United States Navy Military Sealift Command, pleaded guilty today to accepting bribes and conspiring to commit bribery.
U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after Miserendino’s guilty plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Miserendino was a government contractor at the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy. In that position, Miserendino worked closely with Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate. In approximately November 2004, Miserendino and Toy initiated an extensive bribery conspiracy that spanned five years, involved multiple coconspirators including two companies, and resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value to Miserendino and Toy in exchange for official assistance.
At his plea hearing, Miserendino admitted that he solicited and accepted regular cash bribes, as well as other things of value, from two Chesapeake, Virginia contracting companies, referred to as Company A and Company B in court documents, in exchange for providing favorable treatment to those companies in connection with U.S. contract work. More specifically, Miserendino admitted that he accepted $3,000 in cash bribes per month from various employees at Company A, including co-conspirators Dwayne A. Hardman, Roderic J. Smith, Michael P. McPhail, and Adam C. White. Miserendino also admitted that he, along with Toy, accepted a cash bribe payment of $50,000 in May 2009 that was paid to him by Company B’s founders, Hardman and Timothy S. Miller.
In addition to more than $265,000 in cash bribes, Miserendino also admitted that he and Toy received other things of value, including flat screen televisions, laptop computers, a vacation rental in Nags Head, North Carolina, a football helmet signed by Troy Aikman, and softball bats.
According to plea documents, in exchange for the bribes, Miserendino and Toy performed various official acts to assist Company A and Company B. Indeed, during the conspiracy, Company A received approximately $3 million in business from the Military Sealift Command and Company B received approximately $2.5 million in business.
As part of his guilty plea, Miserendino also admitted to engaging in a scheme to conceal his criminal activity, which involved Miserendino arranging for more than $85,000 to be paid to one of his co-conspirators, Hardman, in an attempt to prevent Hardman from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.
Miserendino is scheduled to be sentenced on November 7, 2014.
Earlier this year, five other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to bribery, and he was sentenced on July 29, 2014, to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $100,000. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman, the co-founder of Company A and Company B, pleaded guilty to bribing Toy and Miserendino, and he was sentenced on July 9, 2014, to 96 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $144,000. On Feb. 19, 2014, Michael P. McPhail pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on Aug. 5, 2014, to 36 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000. On March 5, 2014, Smith, the co-founder and former president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on June 23, 2014, to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $175,000. On April 4, 2014, White, a former vice president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery, and he was sentenced on July 11, 2014, to 24 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $57,000.
The remaining defendant, Miller, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Miller’s trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS, and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Two Maryland Men Convicted for Roles in 2013 String of Armed Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – James McNeal, 63, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Alphonso Stoddard, 59, of Forest Heights, Maryland, were convicted by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Timothy A. Gallagher, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington County Chief of Police, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted on Aug. 8, 2014 by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis, III.Stoddard was convicted of charges involving three separate bank robberies, and McNeal was convicted for his involvement in one bank robbery. Stoddard faces a mandatory life sentence because of prior convictions for armed bank robberies, and McNeal faces a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The two defendants will be sentenced on November 7, 2014.
According to court records and evidence at trial, the FBI identified McNeal and Stoddard as possible suspects in a string of bank robberies in late 2013 and kept the men under close surveillance. On Dec. 27, 2013, McNeal and Stoddard were followed by law enforcement agents as they cased two banks in Arlington, Virginia. One of the banks the defendants were seen casing was a Wells Fargo branch on South George Mason Drive.
On Dec. 31, 2013, McNeal left his residence in Hyattsville and picked up Stoddard before returning to the Wells Fargo branch in Arlington. At approximately 1:15 p.m., Stoddard and a third man, James Link, 56, of Washington, D.C., entered the bank. Inside the bank, Link brandished a firearm while Stoddard removed approximately $47,000 in cash from teller drawers. The two men exited the bank and returned to the vehicle where McNeal was waiting. The FBI and Arlington officers arrested the defendants approximately one block away from the Wells Fargo branch. A handgun and cash were found in the vehicle.
A search of McNeal’s house led to the discovery of an additional firearm believed to be used in earlier bank robberies, cash and gloves. Stoddard admitted to his involvement in armed robberies at a Wells Fargo in Rockville, Maryland on Oct. 29, 2013 and the Bank of Georgetown in Vienna, Virginia on Oct. 30, 2013. Link admitted he was involved in the Bank of Georgetown robbery and an armed robbery at a Wells Fargo in Arlington on Nov. 25, 2013.
Link pleaded guilty to two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and admitted his involvement in four bank robberies. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on Sept. 12, 2014.The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from FBI’s Baltimore Division and the Arlington County and Fairfax County police departments. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Columbia and the District of Maryland also provided assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam B. Schwartz and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer A. Clarke 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. 1:14-cr-76.
MS-13 Gang Member Sentenced to 60_Months in Prison for Obstruction of Child Sex Trafficking LawsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Victor Manuel Contreras, 29, of Manassas, Virginia, was sentenced to serve 60 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for obstructing and interfering with the enforcement of federal child sex trafficking laws.
U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settle of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents and statements made at his plea hearing, in July 2011, Contreras engaged in chats via Facebook with a minor female. In those chats, she indicated a desire to run away from home, and Contreras told her that he would help her if she did so. Once the girl ran away from home, Contreras arranged for her to stay with other MS-13 gang members, who subsequently coerced her into prostitution. When law enforcement officers interviewed Contreras during their search for the girl, Contreras lied about his relationship with her, and then called other MS-13 gang members to warn them that law enforcement officers were looking for her.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the “resources” tab on the left of the page.
The case was investigated by HSI, and prosecuted by Trial Attorney Alicia Yass of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary K. Daly of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Tweet
Virginia Resident Pleads Guilty to Failing to Pay Employment TaxesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Nureni Abayomi Baruwa, a resident of Alexandria, Virginia, pleaded guilty to employment tax fraud today, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.
According to the plea agreement and statement of facts, Baruwa operated a car detailing business called NAB International Group of Companies Inc. This business was incorporated by Baruwa in 1993 in the commonwealth of Virginia and he served as the president. Baruwa was in charge of withholding employment taxes from his employees’ wages, paying over the withheld amount to the IRS and reporting these amounts to the IRS by filing quarterly employment tax returns.
According to court documents, in all but three quarters, beginning with the first quarter of 2003 through the last quarter of 2010, Baruwa failed to timely collect, account for and pay the IRS the taxes withheld from his employees’ paychecks, as well as the employer’s portion of the employment taxes. Furthermore, in all but five quarters during the same period, Baruwa failed to file NAB’s quarterly employment tax returns with the IRS in a timely manner. Additionally, since at least 2006, Baruwa has failed to file an individual income tax return in a timely manner, despite the fact that he was legally required to do so annually. According to court documents, the tax loss is between $200,000 and $400,000, which will be determined by the court at Baruwa’s Oct. 24 sentencing.
This case was investigated by special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Caryn Finley of the department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the division website.
13 Members of International Counterfeit Currency Ring Indicted for Racketeering and Related OffensesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thirteen members of an international counterfeit currency ring were indicted today on racketeering and related charges for allegedly printing and distributing millions of dollars in counterfeit U.S. $100 bills.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Julia A. Pierson, Director of the U.S. Secret Service, made the announcement.
“This alleged counterfeiting ring used sophisticated techniques to mimic the security and design features of the redesigned U.S. $100 bill,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “I want to commend the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners for aggressively investigating this conspiracy and supporting the prosecution of these 13 defendants.”
“This case is a perfect example of the Secret Service combining traditional investigative methods with cutting-edge technology to resolve a long-term and complex counterfeit currency investigation,” said Secret Service Director Pierson. “These arrests further demonstrate the remarkable level of success our Special Agents have had combatting counterfeit U.S. currency and other financial crimes over our 149 year history.”
According to court records, beginning around 1999, the Secret Service first detected a high-quality counterfeit $100 Federal Reserve Note in New York City. The counterfeit bills, which are believed to have been manufactured in Israel through off-set printing, have been circulated predominately along the I-95 corridor and eastern United States. More recently, beginning in January 2014, the organization allegedly established a domestic printing plant in New Jersey. Since the detection of this counterfeit note, over $77.4 million has been passed or seized by law enforcement globally. The Secret Service estimates that in 2013 alone, approximately $10.8 million worth of this counterfeit note was passed or seized.
As detailed in the affidavit in support of a criminal complaint in this case, the Secret Service recently developed critical investigative leads that ultimately contributed to the dismantling of this criminal distribution network. From May 28 to June 13, 2014, agents executed federal arrest and search warrants across five states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida), culminating in the suppression of a sophisticated counterfeit printing plant in New Jersey that is suspected of producing one of the most prolific counterfeit notes in history. As part of these searches, law enforcement recovered one Heidelberg and one Ryobi off-set printing press, three Heidelberg printing machines, an etching machine used to develop plates, multiple off-set plates, computer equipment, counting machines, approximately $240,700 in genuine U.S. currency, approximately $2.5 million in counterfeit U.S. currency and a stolen .45 caliber Colt 1911 gun.
As outlined in the table below, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia returned a superseding indictment on Aug. 7, 2014 charging ten members of the criminal enterprise with one count of participating in a racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit multiple offenses relating to the counterfeiting of U.S. currency. Three additional defendants (Barrett, Epps and Guerra) were charged with participating in the counterfeiting conspiracy.
All 13 defendants were initially charged by criminal complaint and arrested from May 28 to June 13, 2014. The ten defendants charged with the racketeering conspiracy face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted, and the three defendants charged solely with the counterfeiting conspiracy face a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted.
The defendants are listed in the superseding indictment in the following order:
Defendant Name & AgeResidence
Arrest Location & Date
Custody/Bond Status
Rison Lezion, Israel
Jamaica, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Ronin Fakiro, 45
Rison Lezion, Israel
Jamaica, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Boaz Borohov, 43
Tel Aviv, Israel
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
May 28, 2014In custody
Ofra Borohov, 45
Tel Aviv, Israel
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
May 28, 2014In custody
Arkadiy Bangiyev, 37
Rego Park, New York
Rego Park, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Eduard Bangiyev, 39
Forest Hills, New York
Scranton, Pennsylvania
May 28, 2014In custody
Johnny Elegante Lee, 44
Glen Oaks, New York
Miami, Florida
June 1, 2014In custody
Tarell Lavon Johnson, 26
Lynbrook, New York
Lynbrook, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Craig Johnson, 48
Douglasville, Georgia
Douglasville, Georgia
June 13, 2014In custody
Shannon Lamont Smith, 38
Woodstock, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
May 28, 2014Released on bond
Fredrick Barrett, 32
Hempstead, New York
Hempstead, New York
May 28, 2014In custody
Ramel Epps, 23
Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York
May 28, 2014Released on bond
Brattie Guerra, 22
Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York
May 28, 2014Released on bond
This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from multiple field and resident offices of the Secret Service in Philadelphia, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Long Island and Scranton, Pennsylvania; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Prince William County Police Department; Stafford County Sheriff’s Office; and the police departments of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Mt. Laurel, New Jersey; Nassau County, New York; Rockville Centre, New York; and Woodstock, Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly R. Pedersen and Gordon D. Kromberg are prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-206.
Title Goes HereFairfax Man Pleads to Creating and Selling Counterfeit Postage StampsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Brian Kim, 38, of Fairfax, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to defrauding the U.S. Postal Service by counterfeiting and selling approximately $76,000 in postage stamps at two packaging centers he owned and operated in northern Virginia.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Gary Barksdale, 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. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Kim pleaded guilty to a criminal information containing one count of mail fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 7, 2014. Kim also has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $76,000, representing the total amount of illicit gains from the fraud.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Kim admitted that from January to October 2013, he counterfeited postal stamps that had been originally printed on a USPS-authorized postage meter, and he then affixed those stamps to packages and letters that customers brought to his packaging centers. Neither the customers who purchased the stamps nor the USPS employees who picked up the packages were aware of Kim’s scheme.
Kim’s packaging centers were located in Fairfax and Arlington, Virginia. On one representative day (Aug. 12, 2013), Kim caused the mailing of letters and packages bearing 80 counterfeit stamps, with a total value of $395.70. On Oct. 15, 2013, postal inspectors seized approximately $23,974.59 worth of counterfeit stamps while executing search warrants at Kim’s businesses.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Johnston and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kosta S. Stojilkovic 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. 1:14-cr-239.
Spice and Bath Salts Dealer SentencedRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Ryan Fernandes, age 30 of Gloucester, Va., was sentenced today to 204 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release. This followed his November 12, 2013 guilty plea to Conspiracy to Distribute Analogues.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Mark S. Davis in Newport News.
Fernandes was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 10, 2013, for his activities as the owner/operator of the Treasure Box on George Washington Highway in Gloucester, Virginia.
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, the defendant admitted to conspiring with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a variety of analogue drugs, commonly referred to as “Spice” and “Bath Salts,” between January 2012 and July 2012.This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Virginia State Police Tri-Rivers and Peninsula Task Forces the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Eric M. Hurt prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Former Virginia Subcontractor Sentenced for Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A former employee of a government contracting company, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for conspiracy to bribe public officials at the United States Navy Military Sealift Command.
United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Susan Triesch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after McPhail’s sentencing before United States Chief District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Michael P. McPhail, 49, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with conspiracy to commit bribery on Feb. 19 2014. According to his plea documents, McPhail is a former employee of a Chesapeake, Virginia, government contracting company, referred to as Company A, which sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command, the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. At his plea hearing, McPhail admitted that from approximately March 2005 to approximately January 2007, he personally contributed approximately $45,000 of his salary toward bribe payments made to two public officials working for the Military Sealift Command. McPhail further admitted that he did so in an effort to unfairly and illegally influence those public officials to provide favorable treatment to Company A in connection with United States government contracting work. Specifically, McPhail and other Company A employees, including Roderic J. Smith, Dwayne A. Hardman, and Adam C. White, provided monthly cash bribes to two Military Sealift Command public officials, Kenny E. Toy, the former Afloat Programs Manager for the Military Sealift Command’s N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate, and Scott B. Miserendino, Sr., a former government contractor. This extensive bribery conspiracy spanned five years, involved multiple co-conspirators and two different companies, and resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, to Toy and Miserendino.
Earlier this year, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from Company A employees. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman, the co-founder of Company A, pleaded guilty to providing bribes to Toy and Miserendino. On March 5, 2014, Smith, the former president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials. On April 4, 2014, White, a former vice president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery.
On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan sentenced Smith to 48 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $175,000. On July 9, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced Hardman to 96 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $144,000. On July 11, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced White to 24 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $57,000. On July 29, 2014, Judge Smith sentenced Toy to 96 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $100,000.
On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Timothy S. Miller, a businessman whose company sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before United States Chief District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
The charges contained in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the FBI, DCIS, and NCIS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN).
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Baltimore Man Pleads to Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud RingRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Olanrewaju Abiola, 39, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit access device fraud for participating in an identity theft and credit card fraud ring that operated in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore region.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from at least as early as September 2010 through at least June 2012, Abiola conspired with others to purchase stolen credit card data on the Internet or through other means. This stolen data was then unlawfully loaded onto gift cards or unlawfully encoded onto other credit or debit cards through the use of device-making equipment, such as credit card encoders. The counterfeit credit cards often were embossed with aliases belonging to the members of the conspiracy, including the alias of “Sean White,” which was used by Abiola.
Abiola and his co-conspirators then took trips, sometimes together, to use the re-encoded gift, credit or debit cards to buy gift cards and other merchandise at legitimate merchant locations like Giant, Rite-Aid and Nordstrom in or around the Washington-Baltimore region. Abiola and his co-conspirators often presented counterfeit driver’s licenses displaying various aliases when requested by store clerks. The co-conspirators then returned the merchandise they purchased in order to convert the stolen data to cash.
The actions of Abiola and his co-conspirators involved more than 250 victims and resulted in at least $200,000 in actual and intended losses.Three other individuals from Baltimore previously have pleaded guilty for their roles in the identity theft and credit card fraud ring: Rameesha Smith, 30, Patrick Fagbemi, 33, and Kentrala Fulton, 35. Smith was sentenced to 38 months in prison on June 20, 2014 for her role in the scheme. Fagbemi and Fulton will be sentenced on Sept. 5, 2014 and Oct. 17, 2014, respectively. Abiola faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 17, 2014.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jasmine H. Yoon 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 Nos. 1:14-cr-241 (Fulton), 1:14-cr-240 (Abiola), 1:14-cr-222 (Fagbemi), and 1:14-cr-87 (Smith).
Black P-Stones Gang Member Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison on Racketeering Conspiracy and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Marcellus Williams, aka “Math,” “P-Shooter” and “Manny,” 27, of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced today to serve 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for engaging in numerous gang-related crimes as a ranking member of the Black P-Stones, including shootings of rival gang members, robberies and drug dealing.
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 and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement after sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.
According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Williams was a “First Superior” in the Black P-Stones, a violent street gang also referred to as the P-Stone Bloods and Cobra Stones. The Black P-Stones operated primarily in the Beechmont, Courthouse Green and Woodview neighborhoods in the Denbigh area of Newport News, Virginia, and its members engaged in various criminal activities including murders, robberies, drug trafficking and obstruction of justice. As a First Superior, Williams directed and participated in the gang’s criminal activities, including robberies, attempted murder and marijuana sales.
According to the statement of facts, on April 27, 2008, Williams and other Black P-Stones members participated in a broad-daylight shooting on Warwick Boulevard in Newport News targeting a rival gang member. The rival was shot twice and injured in his mouth, neck and shoulder.
Additionally, on Dec. 10, 2008, Williams and other Black P-Stones members retaliated against a rival gang member who exhibited disrespect toward Williams’s girlfriend. Approximately seven to eight bullets were fired at the rival gang member’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia, with bullets ripping through the living room and front door while two people were inside.
Further, on March 9, 2009, Williams and other Black P-Stones members shot at the home of a rival gang member in retaliation for a previous altercation. The rival gang member and another individual were inside of the home during the shooting, and one bullet nearly struck one of the people inside.
Williams was charged in a superseding indictment on Dec. 9, 2013, and pleaded guilty on April 15, 2014, to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Safe Streets Peninsula Task Force, with the assistance of the Newport News Police Department, James City County Police Department, and the Virginia State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Louis A. Crisostomo and Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Tweet
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Travel in Furtherance of Underage ProstitutionRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Jeffrey Chadwick Wright, 25, of Warrenton, NC, pleaded guilty today to travel in furtherance of a criminal activity, namely underage prostitution.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Charles May, Acting Executive Assistant Director for the Atlantic Operations, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, made the announcement after the plea was heard by United States Magistrate Judge Douglas Miller.
Wright was indicted on May 8, 2014 by a federal grand jury on charges of sex trafficking of children; travel in furtherance of criminal activity; and concealment of evidence. Wright faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when he is sentenced on November 14, 2014 before United States Chief District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
Wright, then on active duty in the U.S. Navy, assisted a 17 year old HIV positive female in running away from her foster home in Hampton Roads. Wright then paid for backpage.com advertisements for escort services for the 17 year old in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. Wright was arrested on state charges on March 3, 2014, when he and the victim were discovered by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in base housing on Naval Station Norfolk.
This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the Virginia Beach Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi and Special Assistant United States Attorney Christopher A. George are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.Tweet
Newport News Man Convicted of Decade-Long Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Kelvin L. Brown (a.k.a. “Doom”), 34, of Newport News, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of participating in a decade-long conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Brown also was convicted of two counts of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.
According to court records and evidence at trial, Brown was arrested by Newport News police on Sept. 13, 2013 in a barricaded apartment with a firearm, a scale and cocaine. The evidence showed that Brown and his co-conspirators distributed crack and powder cocaine in the Newport News area beginning in the early 2000s, and they possessed firearms in order to protect the drug conspiracy and its proceeds. Brown also made threats against a cooperating witness during the course of the case.
Brown will be sentenced on Dec. 8, 2014. On the drug conspiracy conviction, Brown faces a mandatory term of five years and a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison. On the two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, Brown faces a combined mandatory minimum term of 30 years in prison. On the felon-in-possession conviction, Brown faces a maximum of ten years in prison.
This investigation was led by FBI and the Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Newport News Police, Virginia State Police, and Newport News Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard J. Zlotnick and Trial Attorney Joseph K. Wheatley from the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal 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. 4:13-cr-110.Former Virginia ABC Employee Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement ChargesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A former employee of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) pleaded guilty today to stealing over $239,000 in funds that were intended for educational programs to combat underage drinking.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after the guilty plea was accepted by U.S. District Court Judge John A. Gibney.
Steven Hammond, Jr., 29, of Richmond, Virginia, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with theft from a program receiving federal funds. Hammond faces a maximum of ten years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 14, 2015.
“Hammond embezzled money that was intended to help save lives and improve public safety by combatting underage drinking,” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “I commend our partners in state and federal law enforcement for their cooperative efforts to unravel this fraud and hold the defendant accountable.”
“This is a simple case of greed by someone who abused the public trust for his own benefit,” said Attorney General Mark Herring. “Cooperation between state and federal partners was key to resolving this case, as it so often is. The public should be reassured that the scam was detected, shut down, and the person responsible is being held accountable. We will not allow people like this to defraud taxpayers and undermine the public’s confidence in our hardworking public servants.”According to court documents, Hammond used his position as education coordinator at ABC to divert to himself funds that were intended to combat underage drinking through enforcement and education programs and conferences. Beginning as early as 2009, Hammond began defrauding ABC by having the department write checks of less than $5,000 to various acquaintances he claimed would operate an educational program. The acquaintances would then cash the checks on Hammond’s behalf, usually in exchange for a small return. The investigation revealed Hammond stole more than $239,000 in funds that were intended for the programs to combat underage drinking.
When an internal ABC audit in the spring of 2013 discovered Hammond’s scheme, he was placed on leave and additional financial controls were put into place. The case was initially investigated by the Virginia State Police and The Virginia Office of Attorney General, which has authority to prosecute crimes involving the handling of funds by a state agency or the theft of state property. Because the embezzled funds also involved federal grants, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Virginia State Police and Office of Attorney General. Michael Jagels, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Virginia Assistant Attorney General, is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 3:14-cr-227.Former U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command Manager Sentenced for Receiving BribesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Kenny E. Toy, 54, the former Afloat Programs Manager at the United States Navy Military Sealift Command, was sentenced today to serve 96 months in prison for receiving bribes.
United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Robert Craig of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Mid-Atlantic Field Office, Acting Executive Assistant Director Charles T. May Jr. of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Atlantic Operations and Special Agent in Charge Royce E. Curtin of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office made the announcement today after sentencing by United States Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith of the Eastern District of Virginia.
On Feb. 12, 2014, Toy pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with one count of bribery. According to the statement of facts filed with Toy’s plea agreement, Toy was employed as the Afloat Programs Manager in the N6 Command, Control, Communication, and Computer Systems Directorate at the Military Sealift Command, which is the leading provider of transportation for the United States Navy. In approximately November 2004, Toy joined an extensive bribery conspiracy that spanned five years, involved multiple co-conspirators, including two different companies, and resulted in the payment of more than $265,000 in cash bribes, among other things of value, to Toy and to Scott B. Miserendino Sr., a former government contractor who performed work for the Military Sealift Command.
At his plea hearing, Toy admitted that he accepted monthly cash bribes of approximately $3,000, as well as a flat screen television and a paid vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, from co-conspirators Dwayne A. Hardman, Roderic J. Smith, Michael P. McPhail, and Adam C. White, all of whom were employed at a government contracting company referred to as Company A in court documents. Toy also admitted that he accepted a $50,000 cash bribe in May 2009 from Hardman and another co-conspirator, Timothy S. Miller, both of whom were employed at a government contracting company referred to as Company B in court documents. In exchange for the bribes, Toy provided favorable treatment to Company A and Company B in connection with Military Sealift Command related business.
As part of his guilty plea, Toy also admitted to engaging in a scheme to conceal his criminal activity. Toy admitted to causing more than $88,000 to be paid to Hardman in an attempt to prevent Hardman from reporting the bribery scheme to law enforcement authorities.
Toy was also ordered to serve a supervised release term of three years following his prison sentence, and ordered to forfeit $100,000.
Earlier this year, four other individuals pleaded guilty in connection with the bribery scheme. On Feb. 18, 2014, Hardman, the co-founder of Company A and Company B, pleaded guilty to providing bribes to Toy and Miserendino. On Feb. 19, 2014, McPhail, a former employee at Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. On April 4, 2014, White, a former vice president at Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. On March 5, 2014, Smith, the former president of Company A, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials. On June 23, 2014, United States District Judge Henry Coke Morgan sentenced Smith to 48 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $175,000.
On May 23, 2014, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Miserendino and Timothy S. Miller, a businessman whose company sought contracting business from the Military Sealift Command. The indictment charges Miserendino with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, one count of bribery, one count of conspiracy to commit obstruction of criminal investigations and to commit tampering with a witness, and one count of obstruction of criminal investigations. The indictment charges Miller with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and two counts of bribery. Trial is set for Sept. 30, 2014, before Chief Judge Rebecca Beach Smith.
Charges contained in an indictment are merely allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the FBI, NCIS and DCIS. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Emily Rae Woods of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section of the Justice Department.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Springfield Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Attempting to Induce Two Children to Engage in Illegal Sexual ActivitiesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Kenneth A. Brauckmann, 51, of Springfield, Virginia, was sentenced today to 132 months in prison for attempting to coerce and entice two children to engage in illegal sexual activities.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington; and Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Brauckmann pleaded guilty on May 13, 2014. According to court documents, in November 2013, Brauckmann used a social networking website to contact a user he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, who was in fact an undercover Fairfax County police detective. Through online and text messages with the user, Brauckmann made arrangements to engage in sexual activities with her and her 13-year-old friend in his car. Brauckmann repeatedly requested nude photographs of the two girls. On Nov. 4, 2013, Brauckmann drove to a movie theater in Fairfax County, where he believed the two girls would meet him, and was arrested.
In court documents, Brauckmann admitted that he had engaged in similar illicit behavior with actual female children from whom he requested sexual encounters and nude photographs, and that, from January 2005 through his time of arrest, he engaged in multiple sexual conversations with others claiming to be girls between 13 and 16 years old.
This case was investigated by the Fairfax County Police Department and ICE-HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maya D. Song prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.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. 1:14-cr-166.
Georgia Woman Convicted of Involvement in Counterfeit Check SchemeRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Rasheeda McConnell, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of conspiring to commit bank fraud and six counts of bank fraud.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Mark R. Herring, Attorney General of Virginia; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Kathy A. Michalko, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney.
McConnell was indicted on March 4, 2014, by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and bank fraud charges. According to court records and evidence at trial, McConnell was part of a group that stole business checks from commercial mailboxes and used them to make counterfeit checks. The group then recruited people to cash the checks from areas where the homeless or unemployed would congregate. McConnell drove conspirators for several of these transactions and also attempted to recruit cashers via email and social media.
McConnell faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on each count of conviction when she is sentenced on October 27, 2014. Five co-defendants previously pled guilty in this case and are awaiting sentencing. Christopher Eugene Pope is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2014; Devante Carson is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2014; Kevin Lavon Smith, and Rodney Keith Barnes, II, are scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2014; and Brandon Jermaine Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on October 17, 2014. Another co-defendant, Damion Latoras Foster, remains at large.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Secret Service, and Chesterfield County Police Department as members of the Metro-Richmond Identity Theft Task Force. Other member agencies of the Task Force include: the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the U.S. Department of State, Richmond Police Department, and Henrico County Division of Police. Prosecutions for the Task Force are handled by the United States Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles A. Quagliato and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Moore are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 3:14-cr-28.
Stafford Doctor Indicted for Allegedly Running Pill MillRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The former chief of medicine at Stafford Hospital was indicted by a federal grand jury today on 45 counts charging the defendant with operating a chronic pain management practice through which she illegally distributed a wide range of prescription drugs to over 100 patients.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Charles E. Jett, Stafford County Sheriff; and Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent, made the announcement.
Nibedita Mohanty, 56, of Stafford, Virginia, was indicted on one count of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances; one count of distributing and dispensing a controlled substance resulting in the death of a patient; two counts of distributing and dispensing controlled substances resulting in serious bodily injury (nonfatal overdoses); thirty-eight counts of distributing and dispensing controlled substances; two counts of aiding and abetting health care fraud; and one count of aiding and abetting money laundering.
Mohanty faces a mandatory minimum sentence of twenty years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine, if she is convicted of the major drug trafficking charge relating to the death of a patient after consuming oxycodone.
According to the indictment, Mohanty was a physician and served as the Chief of Medicine at Stafford Hospital from June 2009 to February 2013. Starting in 2008, Mohanty represented herself as a chronic pain management doctor and treated over 100 patients. In April 2013, the Virginia Board of Medicine suspended Mohanty’s medical license, and in September 2013, Mohanty surrendered her license for a period of three years.
According to court records, Mohanty distributed controlled substances, often for excessive dosages, to patients outside the bounds of professional practice and with no legitimate medical purpose, in exchange for cash sums paid by these patients for visits. Mohanty also issued a number of prescriptions for controlled substances—such as oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine—despite knowing that her patients were abusing, misusing, distributing or selling the controlled substances.
In May 2011, for example, Mohanty prescribed 760 oxycodone 30 mg tablets, 120 OxyContin 80 mg tablets and 120 Dilaudid 8 mg tablets to a single patient, identified as V.W. in the indictment. On June 1, 2011, V.W. consumed a portion of the oxycodone dispensed by Mohanty, allegedly causing V.W.’s death. In addition, as a result of Mohanty’s prescriptions, other patients allegedly suffered serious bodily injury through nonfatal overdoses.
The indictment further alleges that Mohanty prescribed medications containing buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance, for substance abuse and withdrawal, even though she did not have the requisite DEA license to do so. In addition, Mohanty wrote prescriptions knowing that patients would attempt to fill the prescriptions using their health insurance, thereby causing fraudulent claims to be submitted to the patients’ insurance companies.
As alleged in the indictment, Mohanty received cash payments from her patients, and she used those payments to support a lavish lifestyle and maintain a large home, which included a swimming pool, for which she paid $32,000 cash in numerous denominations stuffed in envelopes.
This case was initiated and investigated by the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office and assisted by the FBI’s Richmond and Washington Field Offices and the Virginia State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Ballantyne and Nicole Grosnoff are prosecuting the case.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-256.
Newport News Man Sentenced for Participating in Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Salvatore Lopiccolo, age 35 of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced today to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his participation in a drug conspiracy.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.
Lopiccolo was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 14, 2013, and on April 21, 2014, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute analogues, cocaine, cocaine base, methylone, marijuana, psilocybin and drug paraphernalia.
In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, the defendant admitted he conspired with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a variety of drugs and drug analogues from Bonsai Pipe and Tobacco. Multiple controlled purchases of cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, methylone, psilocybin, drug analogues and drug paraphernalia were made from Bonsai, the defendant, and Bonsai employees.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Virginia State Police Tri-Rivers and Peninsula Task Forces the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the York-Poquoson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.
Hacker Charged with Breaching Multiple Government Computers and Stealing Thousands of Employee and Financial RecordsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Lauri Love, 29, of Stradishall, England, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on charges of conspiracy, causing damage to a protected computer, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; John R. Hartman, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); and Stephen Niemczak, Special Agent in Charge, Computer Crimes Unit at the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made the announcement.
According to the indictment, beginning around October 2012, Love and his conspirators accessed without authorization protected computers belonging to DOE, HHS, U.S. Sentencing Commission, FBI’s Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, Deltek, Inc. and Forte Interactive, Inc. Love and his conspirators gained unauthorized access to the protected computers by exploiting a known vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion, a software program designed to build and administer websites and databases. The vulnerability, which has since been corrected, allowed Love and his conspirators to access protected areas of the victims’ computer servers without proper login credentials—in other words, to bypass security on the protected computers.
After gaining unauthorized access to the protected servers, Love and his conspirators obtained administrator-level access to the networks using custom file managers, which allowed the conspirators to upload and download files, as well as create, edit, remove and search for data. Love unlawfully obtained massive amounts of sensitive and confidential information stored on those computers, including more than 100,000 employee records with names, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and salary information, along with more than 100,000 financial records, including credit card numbers and names. Love’s actions caused total losses in excess of $5 million.
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, in conjunction with the Inspectors General for the United States Department of Energy, United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the United States Postal Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan K. Dickey and Jay V. Prabhu are prosecuting the case.
Love faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison if convicted of the offenses charged in Virginia. He also faces a mandatory additional two years in prison if convicted of aggravated identity theft. Love also is the subject of separate indictments on related charges in the District of New Jersey and the Southern District of New York.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-258.
Three Defendants Arrested on Charges of Providing Material Support to A Foreign Terrorist OrganizationRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three defendants were arrested today on charges of providing material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization that is conducting a violent insurgency campaign in Somalia. Two additional defendants are fugitives in Kenya and Somalia.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; John P. Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington, D.C. Field Office; and Frank Montoya, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office, made the announcement.
A superseding indictment was issued on June 26, 2014, by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, charging the defendants with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and 20 counts of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The indictment was unsealed after the following arrest warrants were executed today:
Muna Osman Jama, 34, was arrested at her home in Reston, Virginia;
Hinda Osman Dhirane, 44, was arrested at her home in Kent, Washington;
Farhia Hassan was arrested at her residence in the Netherlands;
Fardowsa Jama Mohamed is a fugitive in Kenya and the subject of a pending arrest warrant; and
Barira Hassan Abdullahi is a fugitive in Somalia and the subject of a pending arrest warrant.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on each count in the indictment.
The Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a terrorist group conducting a violent insurgency campaign in Somalia. In 2008, the U.S. government designated al-Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization, and in February 2012, the leaders of al-Shabaab and the terrorist group al-Qa’ida publicly announced the merger of the two groups.
According to court records, defendants Muna Osman Jama and Hinda Osman Dhirane were the leaders of an al-Shabaab fundraising conspiracy operating in the United States, Kenya, the Netherlands, Somalia and elsewhere. Jama and Dhirane allegedly directed a network composed primarily of women who provided monthly payments that were coordinated, facilitated and tracked by the defendants to their conduits in Kenya and Somalia. According to court records, Jama was principally responsible for sending money to Kenya through her conduit, defendant Fardowsa Jama Mohamed, while Dhirane was primarily responsible for sending money to Somalia through her conduit, defendant Barira Hassan Abdullahi.
According to court records, the defendants would refer to the money they sent overseas as “living expenses,” and they repeatedly used code words such as “orphans” and “brothers in the mountains” to refer to al-Shabaab fighters, and “camels” to refer to trucks needed by al-Shabaab. The money transfers often were broken down into small amounts as low as $50 or $100, and the funds were intended for use by al-Shabaab insurgents operating in Somalia.
This case was investigated bythe FBI’s Washington, D.C. and Seattle Field Offices. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also played an essential role in coordinating the arrests and searches with foreign authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Gillis and Trial Attorney Danya E. Atiyeh of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division are prosecuting the case in the Eastern District of Virginia. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle also provided assistance.
Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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-230.
Member of Newport News Drug Gang Sentenced to 30 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Eric Pridgen, 31, of Newport News, Virginia, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for participating in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics as part of the Thug Relations gang.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police Superintendent; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Pridgen pleaded guilty on March 12, 2014. According to court documents, Pridgen was involved with several other individuals, including his brother Herbert Pridgen, in distributing large quantities of powder cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana in the Denbigh section of Newport News. This drug dealing involved the use of firearms and often turned violent.
Eric Pridgen was preceded in sentencing by Robbie Bowles, 29, of Newport News, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in the drug conspiracy and discharging a firearm during a drug trafficking offense; Ronnie Rooks, 29, of Newport News, who received 10 years in prison for the drug conspiracy; and Herbert Pridgen, 27, of Newport News, who received a sentence of 11 years in prison for the drug conspiracy.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Virginia State Police and Newport News Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric M. Hurt 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. 4:13-cr-54.
Owner of Herndon Engineering Firm Convicted of Paying Bribes to A Government OfficialRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Francisco L. Bituin, 58, of Sterling, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to paying bribes to a GSA official in exchange for the official’s assistance in obtaining government contracts for Bituin’s engineering firm.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Robert C. Erickson, Jr., Acting Inspector General for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA); and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Bituin is the owner of FLBE, Inc., an engineering firm located in Herndon, Virginia, that has received over $30 million in government contracts since 2003. In a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, Bituin admitted to paying bribes to a GSA employee who was in a position to recommend FLBE for GSA-managed contracts. The bribes included a $3,750 golf club membership and $2,000 in cash passed by the defendant to the GSA employee during lunch at a Tysons Corner, Virginia restaurant. On another occasion, Bituin offered the GSA employee other things of value in exchange for his assistance in obtaining GSA contracts, including access to a retirement home in Las Vegas, the down payment on a home in Virginia, and 5% of the equity in FLBE.
Bituin faces a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 7, 2014.
This case was investigated by GSA’s Office of the Inspector General and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson 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. 1:14-cr-236.
Two Members of Violent Armed Robbery Crew SentencedRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two defendants were sentenced today for participating in a violent armed robbery crew that operated in northern Virginia.
Calvin Leon Lewis, 30, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 35 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for two counts of using, carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Ray Allen Dicks, Jr., 26, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; Earl L. Cook, Alexandria Chief of Police; Stephan M. Hudson, Prince William County Chief of Police; and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
On April 21, 2014, Lewis pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his participation in the Nov. 14, 2013 robbery of the US 1 Tobacco store in Woodbridge, Virginia, and in the Nov. 17, 2013 robbery of a Safeway grocery store in Alexandria, Virginia. During the US 1 Tobacco robbery, a store clerk was shot in the head and suffered serious injuries.
After a jury trial on May 13, 2014, Dicks was found guilty of conspiring to commit the Safeway robbery. According to court records and evidence adduced at trial, three armed and masked men robbed the Safeway in Old Town Alexandria while another waited nearby in a getaway vehicle. On March 28, 2013, two other defendants—Artemus Lamarr Riley and Louis Anthony Jackson—pleaded guilty for their involvement in the Safeway robbery, as well as three other robberies in King George County, Virginia. Riley and Jackson were each sentenced to 35 years in prison and ordered to pay $17,134.00 in restitution.
This case was jointly investigated by FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Alexandria City, Prince William County, and Washington Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the King George County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia T. Giles and Rebeca H. Bellows 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. 1:14-cr-15.Tweet
Owner of McLean MedSpa Sentenced for Illegally Importing Non-FDA-Approved Drugs and Using on PatientsRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Anoushirvan Sarraf, 48, of Rockville, Maryland, the owner and operator of Aphrodite Advanced Esthetic & Skin Care Clinic (Aphrodite) in McLean, Virginia, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Antoinette V. Henry, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations; Karl C. Colder, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Field Division; Clark Settles, Special Agent in Charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington; Gary Barksdale, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and M. Douglas Scott, Arlington Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
On May 6, 2014, Sarraf was convicted of 13 counts related to his involvement in a scheme to illegally import thousands of vials of non-FDA-approved chemotherapy drugs, injectable cosmetic drugs and devices into the United States. According to court records and evidence at trial, Sarraf partnered with Gallant Pharma International Inc. (Gallant Pharma), an unlicensed wholesale prescription drug distributor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, in exchange for a deeply discounted price on non-FDA-approved cosmetic drugs and devices. Over a period of several years, Sarraf used those cosmetic drugs and devices on hundreds of Aphrodite patients without the patients’ knowledge or consent.
Sarraf allowed Gallant Pharma to use his medical license to order non-FDA-approved chemotherapy drugs and injectable cosmetics from around the world. Most drugs were shipped first to the United Kingdom, where a trans-shipper would repackage the drugs and send them to the United States in smaller packages addressed to Aphrodite, bearing false customs declarations. When the drugs arrived at Aphrodite, a member of the conspiracy would open the boxes, take what they wanted for Aphrodite, and call individuals from Gallant Pharma to retrieve the remainder. Many of the shipments involved “cold-chain” drugs subject to strict temperature controls (which were not followed by the conspirators), and the use of these drugs posed serious potential harm to chemotherapy and cosmetic patients throughout the United States. During the three years that the partnership lasted, more than 17,000 units of non-FDA-approved pharmaceuticals passed through Aphrodite and were sold by Gallant Pharma for more than $10.33 million.
Ten co-defendants previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their involvement in the scheme. An eleventh co-defendant, Eva Montejo Pritchard, 49, of Rockville, Maryland, who served as Aphrodite’s office manager, was also convicted on May 6, 2014, and will be sentenced on July 25, 2014. On July 8, 2014, James Quinn, 73, of the United Kingdom, who is alleged to have served as the trans-shipper for the conspiracy, was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, when he attempted to enter the United States. Quinn is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Alexandria next week.
This case was investigated by FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, DEA’s Group 33 Diversion Task Force, ICE-HSI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Arlington County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lindsay Kelly, Maya Song and Jay Prabhu 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. 1:13-cr-00130.Fairfax Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to Three Years for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thuy Tien Le, 41, of Sterling, Va., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for preparing false income tax returns and committing wire fraud, in connection with her operation of a tax return preparation business called T2 Advantage Services, LLC. Le was also ordered to pay $456,305 in restitution to the IRS and other victims, and to forfeit to the government the proceeds of her crimes.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Thomas J. Kelly, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Le pleaded guilty on April 30, 2014. According to court documents, from 2005 through 2013, Le owned T2 Advantage Services, LLC, a tax return preparation business she operated from her home in Fairfax, Va. Le prepared federal income tax returns for her clients and led them to believe she had electronically filed legitimate returns with the IRS. Prior to filing, however, Le altered the returns by adding false itemized deductions in order to generate large income tax refunds. Le prepared and filed false income tax returns in this manner for more than 100 taxpayers, without their knowledge or consent, and caused more than $450,000 in fraudulently generated income tax refunds to be deposited electronically into bank accounts she controlled.
This case was investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Nathanson 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. 1:14-cr-138.
Chesterfield Towne Center Armed Robber Sentenced to 20 YearsRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Samuel G. Mamudu, 26, of Henrico, Virginia, was sentenced today to 216 months in prison, followed by an additional 24 months for a supervised release violation, for the October 9, 2013, armed robbery of the Prince Jeweler’s Jewelry Store, located inside the Chesterfield Towne Center Mall, committed while the defendant was on federal supervised release.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.
On March 12, 2014, after a two day trial, Mamudu was found guilty of interference with commerce by robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). According to court records and evidence at trial, Mamudu entered into the Prince Jeweler’s jewelry store, located in Chesterfield Towne Center Mall, brandished a firearm, robbed the clerk of several items of jewelry, and fled the scene. Several days later, Mamudu was identified as the armed robber and arrested by the Chesterfield County Police Department with several of the stolen pieces of jewelry in his possession. At the time of the armed robbery, Mamudu was on a period of federal supervised release following a 2010 conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Chesterfield County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Erik S. Siebert and Peter S. Duffey are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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. 3:14-cr-227.
Thug Relations Gang Member Convicted of Racketeering Conspiracy and Multiple MurdersRead the Press Release
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Antonio J. Fuller, 23, of Newport News, Va., was convicted yesterday by a federal jury of participating in a racketeering conspiracy, murder and attempted murder in aid of racketeering, firearm charges and a drug conspiracy involving crack cocaine.
The racketeering conspiracy included the murders of Andre Horton and Andre Julius Johnson on May 17, 2009 and the murder of Christian Hatch on Nov. 4, 2009, as well as the attempted murder of other individuals occupying Hatch’s apartment at Mariner’s Landing in Newport News. The murder of Christian Hatch involved rival gang members.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Royce E. Curtin, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Richard W. Myers, Chief of Newport News Police, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson.
Fuller was indicted on July 17, 2013, along with co-defendants Kevin Ashby and Mustafah Kalil Muhammad. According to court documents, Fuller, Ashby and Muhammad were part of a criminal organization known locally as “Thug Relations.” The gang members protected their criminal enterprise and activities through murder, attempted murder, witness intimidation, robbery and narcotics distribution.
Fuller faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 27, 2014. Muhammad pleaded guilty in April 2014 and will be sentenced on July 23, 2014. Ashby pleaded guilty in March 2014 and was sentenced to life in prison on June 26, 2014.
This investigation was led by FBI and the Safe Streets Task Force, with assistance from the Newport News Police and the Virginia State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard J. Zlotnick and Lisa R. McKeel, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt from the Organized Crime and Gang Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal 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. 4:13-cr-72.Former Virginia-Based Attorney Convicted of Multi-Million Dollar Fraud SchemesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Michael Eisner, 32, of Mastic, New York, entered a guilty plea today in connection with several different fraud schemes that Eisner conducted while he was a practicing attorney and licensed member of the Virginia State Bar.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.
Eisner was indicted on May 15, 2014 by a federal grand jury, and he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Eisner faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison when he is sentenced on October 31, 2014.
In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Eisner admitted to defrauding financial institutions and his own clients of approximately $4.8 million in intended losses. When defrauding financial institutions, Eisner took advantage of the lag time between when a victim financial institution realized that one of Eisner’s checks or credit card payments was fraudulent and when Eisner could obtain real money from that victim. For example, Eisner and co-conspirator Mark Head, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 29, 2014, opened an account at Fidelity Cash Management in K.C.’s name, but without K.C.’s knowledge or permission. Head and Eisner then used that account to issue several large checks to Eisner’s law firm when, in reality, K.C.’s brokerage account never had more than $20 in it. Eisner deposited the checks at various Bank of America branches in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., and he quickly withdrew approximately $350,000 before Bank of America realized that the checks were fraudulent.
In another scheme, Eisner obtained automobile loans from financial institutions, which he purportedly paid off using phony checks. Before the financial institutions realized the checks were phony, they released the automobile titles to Eisner. And before the financial institutions could reclaim title, Eisner worked to sell the automobiles to CarMax so that he could keep the proceeds despite not having valid title to the car.
In addition to these schemes to defraud financial institutions, Eisner admitted to defrauding his own clients of money he was supposed to have kept in trust. For example, around October 2009, A.T. hired Eisner to represent him in a bankruptcy-related legal matter. Eisner was supposed to have kept more than $300,000 of A.T.’s money in a trust account in connection with that bankruptcy. In reality, Eisner used A.T.’s funds for his own personal benefit.
In or about January 2013, Eisner signed an affidavit consenting to the revocation of his license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In that affidavit, Eisner acknowledged that he never deposited client funds into a trust account and, in fact, did not have a trust account during the time he conducted this scheme.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Golder 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. 1:14-cr-167.
Virginia Beach Man Convicted of Conspiracy and Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Robert Harold Scott, Jr., 27, of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted today by a federal jury on 28 counts involving child pornography and destruction of records charges.
Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Clark Settles, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by Senior United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar.
Scott faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment when he is sentenced on November 12, 2014.
A superseding indictment against Scott was returned on March 5, 2014, by a federal grand jury for five counts of conspiracy to produce child pornography; eight counts of production of child pornography; eight counts of receipt of child pornography; five counts of use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity; and two counts of destruction of records.
According to court records and evidence at trial, Scott assumed the online identity of “Mike Pyro.” He would routinely communicate with women in and around the Tidewater area to set up “sex parties,” where the women would work as prostitutes and Scott would pay them for their services. In reality, Scott would not pay them and sometimes would extort the women by threatening to publish sexually explicit videos. In May 2013, Scott was convicted in Virginia Beach Circuit Court for felony extortion and larceny based on similar facts. In addition to the adult parties, Scott was found to be conspiring to and producing child pornography with at least five different women. Law enforcement found that, when discussing the sex parties, sometimes Scott would request these women to produce child pornography and was very specific as to the sex acts he wanted done on camera. Five different women complied, in return for the promise of money. Three of these women already pleaded guilty in Federal court to production of child pornography, and one of these women pleaded guilty in Chesapeake Circuit Court. In total, law enforcement identified seven minor victims involved in the sexual abuse and production, with the youngest being one year old and the oldest being five years old.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorneys Elizabeth M. Yusi and Jay V. Prabhu are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.