Eastern District of Virginia
Press releases recorded for this federal judicial district.
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Enticing A Child and Conspiring to Distribute HeroinRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Robert Chin, 65, of Silver Spring, Md., pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute heroin to young women in return for sexual favors, including enticing a child into engaging in sexual activity.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Debra Evans Smith, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Barry Barnard, Acting Chief of the Prince William County Police Department, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States District Judge T. S. Ellis III.
Chin pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor and conspiracy to distribute heroin, which both carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 5, 2013. Chin will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, from 2007 until his arrest in November 2012, Chin conspired with others to bring heroin and oxycodone into the Washington Metropolitan Area. Chin would then distribute the drugs to young women, including at least one minor, in return for sexual favors. In June 2012, Chin filmed at least some of the encounters with the minor girl in which she performed a number of sex acts with different individuals after receiving drugs from Chin.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, with assistance from the Prince William County/Manassas City/Manassas Park Narcotics Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney John Eisinger is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
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 Coast Guard Petty Officer Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Accepting BribesRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – Nathan Allen Dunn, 30, formerly of Virginia Beach, Va., pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and accepting more than $220,000 in bribes as a public official.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region; and Michael P. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard.
“In two years, Mr. Dunn took more than $220,000 in bribes in exchange for using his position to award over-priced and false contracts for favored shipping companies,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Rooting out criminals who abuse the public’s trust strengthens the integrity of – and our confidence in – the government’s procurement process.”
Dunn was indicted on May 23, 2012, by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, accepting bribes as a public official, and false statements. Dunn faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced before Judge Mark S. Davis on April 29, 2013.
According to a statement of facts filed with his plea agreement, from October 2009 to November 2011, Dunn was an active duty U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Petty Officer assigned as a Transportation Administrator at the Surface Forces Logistics Center in Norfolk, Va. Dunn’s primary duty was to coordinate the shipping of large freight such as boats, trailers, and generators between USCG bases located throughout the United States. Dunn utilized the Department of Defense Transportation Command (TransCom) automated system to bid out and then contract the shipments with authorized freight brokerage companies. During the time frame covered by the indictment, Dunn’s co-conspirator owned twelve such freight brokerage companies, all located in Brookwood, Ala.
In September 2009, Dunn’s co-conspirator traveled to Norfolk to meet with Dunn and told him that in exchange for Dunn issuing USCG freight contracts to the co-conspirator’s companies, the co-conspirator would kickback a percentage of the profits to Dunn. Dunn agreed and, shortly thereafter, the co-conspirator began offering monetary bribes to Dunn by providing him with debit cards linked to several of the co-conspirator’s business bank accounts. To inflate the profit he made from each contract, Dunn would fraudulently manipulate various data entered into the TransCom computer system in order to artificially inflate the price of the shipping contracts he steered to the co-conspirator’s companies. Dunn would also create false shipping contracts for shipments that did not exist, then award the contract and profits to the co-conspirator. Since no freight was actually being shipped pursuant to these false contracts, the payment made to the co-conspirator from the USCG was total profit to the co-conspirator, resulting in Dunn also receiving a larger kickback. Over a two-year period, Dunn received more than $220,000 in bribe payments from the co-conspirator. The total fraud loss to the United States is more than $1 million.
This investigation was brought as part of the Hampton Roads Procurement Fraud Initiative, a collaboration of defense investigative agencies, Inspectors General, and law enforcement dedicated to strengthening the integrity of the federal procurement system.
This case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Inspector General, Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen W. Haynie and V. Kathleen Dougherty 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.Portsmouth Man, Leader of Internet Group 'IMAGiNE,' Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Criminal Copyright ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – The leader of the Internet piracy group “IMAGiNE” was sentenced today to serve 60 months in prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Special Agent in Charge John P. Torres of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) in Washington, D.C.
Jeramiah B. Perkins, 40, of Portsmouth, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen in the Eastern District of Virginia. In addition to his prison term, Perkins was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution. Perkins pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on Aug. 29, 2012.
Perkins was indicted along with three other defendants on April 18, 2012, for their roles in the IMAGiNE Group, an organized online piracy ring that sought to become the premier group to first release Internet copies of movies only showing in theaters.
According to court documents, Perkins directed and participated in using receivers and recording devices in movie theaters to secretly capture the audio sound tracks of copyrighted movies and then synchronized the audio files with illegally recorded video files to create completed movie files suitable for sharing over the Internet among members of the IMAGiNE Group and others.
Perkins admitted he took the lead in renting computer servers in France and elsewhere for use by the IMAGiNE Group. He also admitted he registered domain names for use by the IMAGiNE Group, and opened e-mail and PayPal accounts to receive donations and payments from persons downloading or buying IMAGiNE Group releases of pirated copies of motion pictures and other copyrighted works.
According to testimony by a representative of the Motion Picture Association of America, the IMAGiNE Group constituted the most prolific motion picture piracy release group operating on the Internet from September 2009 through September 2011.
Co-defendants Sean M. Lovelady, Willie O. Lambert and Gregory A. Cherwonik each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on May 9, June 22 and July 11, 2012, respectively. Lambert and Lovelady were sentenced on Nov. 2, 2012, to 30 months and 23 months in prison, respectively. Cherwonik was sentenced on Nov. 29, 2012, to 40 months in prison. A fifth co-defendant, Javier E. Ferrer, was charged in an information on Sept. 13, 2012, for his role in the IMAGiNE Group, and he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement on Nov. 29, 2012. Ferrer is scheduled to be sentenced on March 14, 2013.
The investigation of the case and the arrests were conducted by agents with HSI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Krask of the Eastern District of Virginia and Senior Counsel John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are prosecuting the case. Significant assistance was provided by the CCIPS Cyber Crime Lab and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to stop the theft of intellectual property. Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work. The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders. To learn more about the IP Task Force, go to www.justice.gov/iptf.
This investigation was supported by the HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) in Washington. The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government’s key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy. As a task force, the IPR Center uses the expertise of its 21 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to IP theft. Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the public’s health and safety, the U.S. economy and our war fighters.
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.Woodbridge Woman Pleads Guilty to Failing to Register as A Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jakia J. Carroll, 31, of Woodbridge, Va., pleaded guilty today to one count of failing to register as a sex offender.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Robert Mathieson, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the plea hearing before United States District Judge Claude M. Hilton.
Carroll faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, followed by a mandatory minimum of five years — and up to a lifetime — of supervised release when she is sentenced on April 12, 2013.
According to the indictment and other court records, Carroll was convicted in 2002 of abduction, assault and battery, and sexual battery in the Circuit Court of Prince William County. Under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, also known as the Adam Walsh Act, Carroll is considered a “Tier III” offender, the highest tier. She is required to register as a sex offender wherever she resides, works, or attends school for the duration of her life. Although she had been living in Woodbridge, Va., since December 2010, she knowingly failed to register as a sex offender in Virginia.The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan K. Dickey 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.Blackstone Man Sentenced to Life for Using A Firearm to Murder an Individual at Veteran's HospitalRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – Cornelius I. Hayes, 56, of Blackstone, Va., was sentenced today to life in prison for the murder of James Stephenson Lee in the parking lot of the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 22, 2012.
Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jeffrey C. Mazanec, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office; and Kim Lampkins, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, made the announcement after the sentencing by United States District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson.
“Cornelius Hayes executed a friend in broad daylight; chased his girlfriend at gunpoint; and then shot at and left for dead, someone who had come to help,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “Today’s sentence is just punishment for this senseless and callous violence that endangered everyone at the VA Medical Center that fateful morning.”
“Mr. Hayes’ cold-blooded and egregious actions against these victims, including innocent bystanders from the surrounding community, cannot be tolerated and merit today’s sentencing,” said Special Agent in Charge Mazanec.
Hayes pled guilty on Sept. 25, 2012, to use of a firearm in relation to a violent crime causing the death of another. In documents filed with the court, Hayes admitted to approaching Lee and a female in the parking of the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veteran Administration Medical Center on Feb. 22, 2012. After a brief verbal confrontation with the female, Hayes brandished a .38-caliber revolver and shot Lee in the shoulder. Hayes chased the female a short distance, only to return to Lee, and shoot him a second time in the head. Lee died as a result of the gunshots fired by Hayes.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Veteran’s Administration-Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Peter S. Duffey and Erik S. Siebert 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.