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15 April 2024
New Jersey Businessman Sentenced to Six Months’ Imprisonment for Tax ViolationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Agostino Perna was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to six months in federal prison and six months of home confinement for tax crimes. Perna was also ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and $455,463 in restitution.
Perna pleaded guilty in 2023, admitting that he assisted in the filing of false corporate tax returns and filed false personal income tax returns, with a total loss to the government of $455,463.
Perna was the co-owner and operator of a business called Life Quest, which sells body parts for medical purposes. In this role, he caused false corporate income tax returns for Life Quest to be filed for tax years 2014 through 2019. These returns did not report substantial amounts of the business’ income. This omission occurred because Perna concealed from both his business partner and Life Quest’s accountant/tax preparer that Perna had been receiving significant gross receipts – totaling $332,157 – from certain Life Quest clients, which he ultimately diverted to himself.
Perna filed false personal income tax returns over the same six-year period. First, he failed to report the over $300,000 of Life Quest customer payments that he diverted for his personal use. Second, he omitted from his tax returns over $250,000 of additional income that he received from other businesses he owned. Perna obtained this income having the businesses reimburse him (as a business expense) for using his personal credit cards to pay business expenses, all while he had those businesses directly pay the credit card bills and deducted the credit card payments again as a business expense. Third, Perna failed to report additional significant amounts of business income of approximately $632,000, and then disguised the distribution of that income to himself by mischaracterizing the income as “loan repayments.” Last, Perna failed to report over $80,000 of rental income that he received from properties that he rented to tenants.
“It’s April 15, a day when many people are rushing to file last-minute returns so they can claim refunds or pay what they owe,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Our tax system relies on the honesty and integrity of our citizens to do just that — pay what they legitimately owe to the U.S. Treasury. If they don’t, we can’t properly fund government services, which so many people rely on. Perna’s sentence of prison time, fine, and restitution sends the message that failure to pay your taxes will result in significant consequences.”
“Corporate and personal income taxes are an integral source of funding for government programs such as Social Security and Medicare,” said Yury Kruty, IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge. “These cases continue to be a priority for IRS-CI and we will aggressively pursue those who do not comply with those tax obligations.”
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric D. Gill.
Neosho Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Kidnapping Conspiracy, Illegal FirearmRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Neosho, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a kidnapping conspiracy that resulted in the torture and death of the victim, and for illegally possessing a firearm.
James B. Gibson, also known as “Gibby,” 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool to 30 years in federal prison without parole.
On April 18, 2023, Gibson pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to commit kidnapping and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Co-defendant Lawrence William Vaughan, also known as “Scary Larry,” 52, of Neosho, was sentenced on Nov. 7, 2013, to 25 years in federal prison without parole.
Four co-defendants also have pleaded guilty and await sentencing in this case. Russell Eugene Hurtt, also known as “Uncle,” 52, of Greenwood, Mo., is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, April 16. Amy Kay Thomas, 40, of Webb City, Mo., is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, April 18. Sentencing hearings have not yet been scheduled for Freddie Lewis Tilton, also known as “Ol’ Boy,” 51, and Carla Jo Ward, 49, both of Joplin, Mo.
Gibson admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to kidnap the victim, identified as “M.H.,” in July 2020. Tilton offered Ward and Vaughan $5,000 each to locate and secure M.H. for him. Ward picked up M.H., whom she knew was being sought by Tilton, and took him to Vaughan’s residence. Vaughan texted Tilton, stating “Call me quickly handing (M.H.) to you.” Vaughan and Tilton continued communicating throughout the early morning hours of July 15, 2020. Vaughan sent a text message to Tilton that read, “He’s got 2 guns.” A few hours later, Vaughan sent a text message to Tilton that read, “OK we’ve got both his guns put up,” and “Guns are secure I’m waiting for you.”
Tilton, Thomas, and Gibson arrived at Vaughan’s residence in the early morning hours of July 15, 2020. They bound M.H.’s hands with handcuffs, and duct tape was placed around his mouth and other parts of his body. Gibson, Thomas, and others assaulted M.H. for a period of time. M.H. was cut, beaten, and shot at. Gibson admitted he burned M.H. with a blowtorch. Tilton fatally shot M.H. in the head. Gibson and others cleaned up the blood and damage created during the assault and shooting of M.H. They wrapped M.H.’s body in plastic wrap and Gibson transported it to Hurtt’s property.
Law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hurtt’s property on July 28, 2020, based on information that a deceased body was located on the acreage. When officers attempted to contact the occupants of the residence, Tilton fired multiple shots from inside the residence at the officers. Tilton was apprehended.
Officers found M.H.’s body on the property. Officers searched the residence and found a Rigarmi .25-caliber pistol, an Ithaca .22-caliber rifle, a Remington .22-caliber rifle without a serial number, a Harrington and Richardson 12-gauge shotgun, a Ruger 9mm handgun, and a Taurus 9mm handgun without a serial number.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Gibson has two prior felony convictions for resisting arrest, two prior felony convictions for possessing a controlled substance, and prior felony convictions for tampering, assault, and violence by an inmate against an employee of the Department of Corrections or to an inmate.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ami Harshad Miller. It was investigated by the FBI, the Newton County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Neosho, Mo., Police Department, the Joplin, Mo., Police Department, the Ozark Drug Enforcement Team, and the Cherokee County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department.
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Nebraska Man Sentenced for Involuntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Stapleton, Nebraska, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter. The sentencing took place on April 5, 2024.
Coenrad Jones, age 22, was sentenced to 18 days custody, followed by supervised release until the time he leaves the United States, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $2,100 in restitution.
Jones was indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter by a federal grand jury in October of 2022. He pleaded guilty on January 26, 2024.
Jones, a citizen of South Africa, had obtained a work visa and was employed with a farm in Nebraska. On February 1, 2022, shortly after 7:00 pm, Jones was driving westbound on Highway 18, east of Mission, South Dakota, returning to Nebraska after hauling a load of silage. Jones was operating a Freightliner semi, pulling an empty trailer. A Toyota Sienna was traveling in front of Jones. The Sienna was intending a left-hand turn towards the Sinte Gleska University apartments and was stopped in the roadway, waiting for eastbound traffic to clear. Jones was traveling above the posted speed limit of 45 mph and failed to respond in time to the Sienna in the road. Jones collided with the Sienna and a passenger in the van died as a result of the impact.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abby Roesler prosecuted the case.
Nebraska Man Indicted for Multi-Million Dollar "Cryptojacking" SchemeRead the Press Release
Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Charles O. Parks III, also known as “CP3O,” with operating a large-scale illegal “cryptojacking” operation. As part of the scheme, Parks defrauded two well-known providers of cloud computing services out of more than $3.5 million worth of computing resources in order to mine cryptocurrency worth nearly $1 million. Parks was charged with wire fraud, money laundering and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions in connection with the scheme. Parks was arrested on April 13, 2024 in Nebraska and is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Omaha on April 16, 2024.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the arrest and charges.
“As alleged, by hijacking cloud providers’ computing power, Parks stole millions worth of powerful computing resources to acquire cryptocurrency,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will continue to prioritize prosecuting criminal actors who use new, sophisticated technology to engage in the old scheme of fraud and deceit.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the FBI’s New York Cyber Crimes Task Force (CCTF) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska for their assistance on this case.
“Charles Parks, also known as CP3O, allegedly created a cryptojacking scheme to defraud prominent cloud service providers of millions and illegally mine approximately $1M in cryptocurrency for personal use. Criminals are becoming more adept at manipulating digital tools and hiding behind advanced technology, which often causes significant financial damage to their victims. The FBI is committed to the steadfast pursuit of those who attempt to develop innovative techniques to commit crimes,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
“This arrest illustrates the power of law enforcement joining forces with the private sector to identify and track down cybercriminals, and to put an end to their sophisticated thievery,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “While the threat landscape in this space is growing in complexity and depth, the NYPD and our federal partners continue to ably confront malicious actors even as they adopt new tactics.”
“Cryptojacking,” also referred to as malicious cryptomining, is the unauthorized use or hijacking of another party’s resources, such as electricity, hardware or computing power to mine cryptocurrency. As alleged in the indictment, from in or about January 2021 through August 2021, Parks created and used a variety of names, corporate affiliations and email addresses, including emails with domains from corporate entities he operated called “MultiMillionaire LLC” and “CP3O LLC,” to register numerous accounts with the cloud providers and to gain access to massive amounts of computing processing power and storage that he did not pay for. Parks used those fraudulently obtained resources to mine various cryptocurrencies including Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR). Parks tricked the providers into approving heightened privileges and benefits, including elevated levels of cloud computing services and deferred billing accommodations, and deflected inquiries from the providers regarding questionable data usage and mounting unpaid subscription balances.
Parks converted and laundered the cryptocurrency proceeds through cryptocurrency exchanges, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, an online payment provider, and traditional bank accounts, in order to disguise the audit trail and disassociate the funds from the fraud. Parks also structured various money movements to avoid transaction reporting requirements under federal law. After converting the ill-gotten cryptocurrency into dollars, Parks used the proceeds of the scheme to make extravagant purchases, including a Mercedes Benz luxury car, jewelry and first-class hotel and travel expenses.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and Parks is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Parks faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on the wire fraud and money laundering charges and 10 years’ imprisonment on the unlawful monetary transactions charges.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew Reich and Artie McConnell are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
CHARLES O. PARKS III (also known as “CP3O”)
Age: 45
Omaha, NebraskaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-105 (EK)
Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Eric Malik Smith, also known as “Star,” 24, of Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to aiding and abetting false statements related to the purchase of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 1, 2022, Smith traveled with another person to a Barboursville, West Virginia, business where Smith instructed the person to purchase a Glock 27 .40-caliber pistol on Smith’s behalf. Smith admitted that the person falsely certified on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Federal Firearms Transaction Records Form 4473 that he was the purchaser of the firearm when he knew Smith was the actual buyer of the firearm. Smith further admitted that he took possession of the firearm following the purchase and eventually took it back with him to Maryland.
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on August 19. 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Owen Reynolds is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-156.
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Man Charged for over $70M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – An indictment was unsealed in Tampa last week charging a Mississippi man for his alleged role in an over $70 million fraud scheme involving the payment of kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).
Joel Rufus French, 46, of Amory, made his initial appearance on April 11 in Oxford, Mississippi.
According to court documents, French allegedly managed multiple DME companies without disclosing his role to Medicare. He and his co-conspirators allegedly used the DME companies to bill Medicare for orthotic braces that were obtained using doctors’ orders that were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes, medically unnecessary, not provided as billed, and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. French also allegedly obtained Medicare beneficiary information and paid kickbacks and bribes for doctors’ orders for DME. French allegedly generated and sold doctors’ orders for orthotic braces to suppliers and brokers in exchange for millions in kickbacks and bribes. Finally, French is alleged to have participated in a scheme to launder certain proceeds of his schemes.
French is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, French faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud count, as well as on the conspiracy to commit money laundering count. French faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks count.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida; Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI Tampa Field Office and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Peresie for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Man Charged for over $70M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed in Tampa last week charging a Mississippi man for his alleged role in an over $70 million fraud scheme involving the payment of kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME).
Joel Rufus French, 46, of Amory, made his initial appearance on April 11 in Oxford, Mississippi.
According to court documents, French allegedly managed multiple DME companies without disclosing his role to Medicare. He and his co-conspirators allegedly used the DME companies to bill Medicare for orthotic braces that were obtained using doctors’ orders that were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes, medically unnecessary, not provided as billed, and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. French also allegedly obtained Medicare beneficiary information and paid kickbacks and bribes for doctors’ orders for DME. French allegedly generated and sold doctors’ orders for orthotic braces to suppliers and brokers in exchange for millions in kickbacks and bribes. Finally, French is alleged to have participated in a scheme to launder certain proceeds of his schemes.
French is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, French faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud count, as well as on the conspiracy to commit money laundering count. French faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks count.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida; Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI Tampa Field Office and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Peresie for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Lincoln Woman Sentenced for Possession with Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Amanda Gayle Kuhn 33, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on Friday, April 12, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln for possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine (actual) and 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing meth. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Kuhn to 84 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Kuhn’s release from prison, she will begin a 4-year term of supervised release.
On March 8, 2023, a search warrant was executed at the Lincoln residence of Kuhn. During that search, investigators found four baggies of meth weighing a total of 65 grams. Purity testing showed at least 58 grams of actual meth. Investigators also found drug sales records and a digital scale. Kuhn told investigators she and her husband sold meth, and they bought approximately ¼ ounce of meth per week from their source between January of 2023 and the time of the search.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Drug Task Force.
Liberty woman sentenced for preparing false tax returnRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Liberty woman has been sentenced to federal prison for illegally preparing a tax return in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Teletshia Elice Randolph, 48, pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 15, 2024.
According to information presented in court, in 2019, special agents with the Internal Revenue Service began noticing a pattern of questionable tax forms filed in previous years associated with an IP address which was registered to Randolph. In order to receive payment for preparing or assisting in the preparation of a federal tax return, a person is legally required to have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), and paid preparers must sign and include their PTIN on the return. Not signing a return, commonly known as “ghost preparation,” is often a red flag that a preparer is attempting to avoid detection by the IRS. Randolph did not have a registered PTIN and was suspected of being a “ghost preparer.” Further investigation revealed Randolph was operating an illegal tax preparation business from her residence. Randolph would meet and communicate with clients and obtain the necessary information from them to file their taxes. Randolph would then create fraudulent tax documents indicating the tax filer owned farm equipment and animals and were entitled to deductions they were not. Randolph would then file the tax documents in a way that appeared they were prepared by the actual tax filer. Randolph would keep approximately fifteen percent of each fraudulent tax return. IRS records revealed Randolph filed a total of 542 tax returns on behalf of 282 tax-payer clients for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018. The IRS estimates the total tax loss for these returns had approached six million dollars.
“Today, many Americans are fulfilling their duties as citizens of our great country and filing their taxes, said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “Sadly though, many individuals use the tax filing system to their advantage and unjustly enrich themselves. Teletshia Randolph did just that, by defrauding the government for many years and fraudulently filed taxes for taxpayers for her own benefit. My office is committed to protecting the integrity of the tax filing process and bringing to justice those that manipulate it to their advantage.”
“Randolph is a ghost preparer, someone who is willing to take your money and let you go to prison for filing a fraudulent tax return. She doesn’t sign the tax return because she is not a legitimate tax preparer and she knows the information she used was fraudulent,” said Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Houston Field Office. “Our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office work closely with us to identify and prosecute tax and other financial crimes. April 15 might be the last day of this tax season, but it’s not the last time financial criminals like her will be sentenced for their crimes.”
This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell James.
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Jefferson Parish Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Controlled Substances Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – RODNEY COOPER, age 33, a resident of Metairie, pleaded guilty on April 11, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Jane T. Milazzo to conspiracy to distribute and, possess with intent to distribute, heroin, tapentadol, and marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 841(b)(1)(D), and 846; and possession with intent to distribute those substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D).
According to court documents, on January 6, 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) conducted surveillance in the 500 block of N. Elm Street in Metairie. COOPER was observed selling drugs, both individually and with his co-conspirators, to arriving customers. When JPSO detectives made contact with COOPER, he fled and discarded a backpack containing heroin, tapentadol, and marijuana.
COOPER faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, a minimum of three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee on each count.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.
Jacksonville Convicted Child Sex Offender Pleads Guilty to Producing Photos Depicting the Sexual Abuse of A ChildRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Andrew David Salas (36, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to producing photos depicting the sexual abuse of a minor child. Salas faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years, up to 50 years, in federal prison, and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. Salas is a registered sex offender, having been convicted of carnal knowledge of a minor child in Virginia in 2008. Salas was arrested on November 3, 2022, and has been in custody since that time. A sentencing hearing for Salas is scheduled for July 16, 2024.
According to court documents, in 2022, Salas used a web-based social media messaging platform to engage in an online conversation with a minor child who lived in Georgia. During this online conversation, Salas decided to drive from Florida to meet and pick up the child. On June 14, 2022, Salas drove from Jacksonville to an area near the child’s residence and met the child, who was on foot, at a particular intersection and invited the child into his car. The child entered Salas’s vehicle and told Salas that the child was underage. Salas then drove the child back to his residence in Jacksonville.
For more than four months, the child remained in Salas’s residence, and Salas engaged in sexual activity with the child on several occasions. Salas also used and persuaded the child to pose for him as he took photos of the child in sexually explicit positions. He also took sexually explicit photos of the child while the child slept.
In November 2022, FBI agents in Jacksonville obtained geolocation data showing that an electronic device linked to Salas had been near the child’s residence in Georgia on the evening of June 14, 2022. On November 3, 2022, an FBI agent and a detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) went to Salas’s residence to make contact with Salas and attempt to locate the child. Salas was arrested and his cellphone was seized. Later that day, the child was located and rescued by law enforcement near Salas’s residence and was returned safely to the child’s family.
JSO detectives obtained a search warrant for Salas’s residence and seized several computers and electronic devices. Meanwhile, the FBI obtained search warrants for, Salas’s cellphone. A review of the phone’s contents revealed information about the location of the child’s residence, as well as text messages exchanged between Salas and the child. Salas’s phone also contained sexually explicit photos of the child produced by Salas, as well as photos depicting other young children being sexually abused.
This case was investigated by the Carroll County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Atlanta and Jacksonville), with assistance from the State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 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.
Idaho Falls Man Sentenced to over 16 years in Federal Prison for Coercion and Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – Brett Victor Castro, 37, of Idaho Falls, was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison for coercion and enticement of a minor, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, on June 7, 2023, Castro communicated with a 15-year-old female over the internet using the Facebook Messenger application. Castro quickly directed the conversation to one of a sexual nature. When the minor informed Castro that she was only 15 years old, Castro responded by asking her if she would like to have sex with a 37-year-old. Castro offered marijuana in exchange for sex. Castro drove to the minor, picked her up, provided her marijuana and drove her to a remote location in Idaho Falls. At the remote location Castro engaged in various sexual acts with the minor. The minor reported that during the sexual encounter she asked Castro to stop, and he did not stop, telling her he was almost finished.
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Castro to be placed on supervised release for 15 years following his prison sentence. Castro pleaded guilty to the charge in October 2023.
“We will spare no effort in protecting Idaho’s children from sexual predators,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “This sentence should send a message that severe consequences await anyone who would seek to sexually exploit our children.”
“The online threats children face is unlike any seen by prior generations and necessitates diligence by both law enforcement and those closest to those children,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “HSI and our partners work tirelessly to protect the community from predators such as these and in this instance, take them off the streets for years to come. This requires a joint effort, however, and we ask everyone to play a part in protecting the most vulnerable amongst us.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls and the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Paskett prosecuted this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice, 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.
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Houston man and woman sentenced for federal firearm and drug violationsRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Houston man and woman have been sentenced for federal firearm and drug violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Christopher Jay Johnson, Jr., 35, pleaded guilty on July 31, 2023 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. Lissette Elvira Guevara, 37, also of Houston, pleaded guilty the same day to possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced by Judge Crone last month to serve 113 months in prison.
According to information presented in court, on March 6, 2022, Bridge City police officers investigated a report of a suspicious vehicle parked at a business on Texas Avenue and found Johnson in the passenger seat with a fully loaded pistol on his lap. The strong odor of marijuana led to a search of the vehicle resulting in the discovery of 40 grams of methamphetamine in Guevara’s belongings. Further investigation revealed Johnson was previously convicted of aggravated robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, and controlled substance offenses in Montgomery County, and prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. A federal grand jury indicted Johnson and Guevara on April 5, 2023.
“Guns and drugs are a bad combination,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “We will always support our local law enforcement partners in the investigation and prosecution of cases like this one that involve guns and dangerous repeat offenders. This is also a good reminder to the citizens in our district that if you ‘see something, say something.’ Here, a concerned citizen’s call pointed law enforcement to a threat they might have otherwise missed.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bridge City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.
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Goodell, Iowa Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing a Gun and Ammunition While Being an Illegal User of MarijuanaRead the Press Release
A man who possessed a firearm while being an illegal drug user pled guilty on April 11, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City.
Larry Wayne Robbins, age 67, from Goodell, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession of a firearm by an unlawful drug user, marijuana, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), and 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(8).
In a plea agreement, Robbins admitted that he waived a gun at a neighbor in Hancock County while that individual was mowing a ditch approximately 300 yards east of Robbins’s house. A search warrant later executed at Robbins’ home located guns, ammunition, and marijuana.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Robbins remains on supervision with the United States Probation Office until sentencing. Robbins faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and was investigated by the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-03031.
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Gang Member Admits Racketeering ChargeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang today admitted his role in a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Elijah Williams, aka “Lil Smith,” 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to a superseding indictment that charged him with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger“The defendant in this case today admitted to his role in a criminal enterprise involved in violent crime and drug trafficking. Williams murdered and injured rival gang members and left a trail of blood. He now faces spending the rest of his life behind bars. This result was achieved through the hard work of many law enforcement partners, and we will continue this cooperative effort as we battle the scourge of drugs and violence on our streets.”
“The guilty plea from a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang is a result of the collaborative effort DEA New Jersey has with our law enforcement partners effectively targeting those organizations and individuals poisoning and destroying our communities,” Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz of the DEA New Jersey Field Division said. “Removing these individuals and their illicit narcotics saves lives and prevents deaths.”
“This investigation is an example of ATF’s dedication to working with our state, local and federal partners in identifying, targeting, and investigating violent criminals who prey upon our citizens and lessen the quality of life of our communities,” Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller said. “We will continue to work with our partners to impact the violence of gangs, drug-related activity, and criminal organizations. Our neighborhoods deserve to exist without fear and intimidation inflicted by these violent offenders.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2015 through Sept. 22, 2022, Williams was a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips, a criminal enterprise responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of controlled substances in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere. On Sept. 25, 2018, in Newark, Williams attempted to murder rival gang members and associates by shooting at four individuals, one of whom was paralyzed. On March 20, 2019, in Irvington, New Jersey, Williams fatally shot another person, in retaliation for the murder of a member and associate of the Rollin’ 60s.
The defendant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; special agents of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller; investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of Marshal Juan Mattos; the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Police Division Director Tracy Bowers; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé; the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Samuel A. DeMaio; the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura; the East Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief Phyllis L. Bindi; the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl J. Graves; the Edison Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Tom Bryan; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel; the Spotswood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Philip Corbisiero; and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, with the investigations leading to the charges in the Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips investigation.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division.
williams.sindictment.pdfFour Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jamie Smicherko, age 27, of Avoca, Pennsylvania, Patrick Russin, age 54, of Shavertown, Pennsylvania, Ryan Medar, age 36, of Jenkin Township, Pennsylvania, and Carlos Laurel, age 45, of White Haven, Pennsylvania, were indicted on April 9, 2024, by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking and firearms charges.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that between October, 2023, and April, 2024, Smicherko, Russin, and Medar conspired to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine within Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The indictment also alleges that Smircherko, Russin, Medar, and Laurel conspired to distribute cocaine. The indictment also alleges that Smicherko, Russin, and Medan also distributed quantities of methamphetamine. The indictment further alleges that Medar and Smicherko both trafficked firearms and possessed firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspired to do the same.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the Kingston Police Department, the Plains Township Police Depart, the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, the Pittston Police Department, the Luzerne County Drug Task Force, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, and the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Buchanan is prosecuting the case.
This case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and the President signed in June 2022. The Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.
This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The maximum penalty under federal law for these offenses is imprisonment for life, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Fort Dodge Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing More Than Two Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
A man who distributed methamphetamine out of a hotel room pled guilty on April 11, 2024, in federal court in Sioux City.
Jordan Todd Taylor, age 34, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was convicted of one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
In a plea agreement, Taylor admitted that he distributed more than 2 pounds of methamphetamine out of a hotel room in Fort Dodge from August 2023 through September 2023. Law enforcement executed a search warrant of Taylor’s room on September 29, 2023, and observed him dumping a product in the toilet and located additional methamphetamine, several hundred dollars cash, and drug distribution paraphernalia.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Taylor remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Taylor faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Iowa State Patrol.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-03041.
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Former Veterans Affairs Procurement Supervisor Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Pocketing KickbacksRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former procurement supervisor at the Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Chicago has been sentenced to seven years in federal prison for pocketing kickbacks from the president of a medical supply company to steer the company orders that the VA paid for but never received.
THOMAS E. DUNCAN, 40, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last year to one count of wire fraud. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Friday ordered Duncan to pay $1,709,344 in restitution.
The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Gregory Billingsley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, Central Field Office. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heidi Manschreck.
While serving as a supervisor in the medical center’s Central Supply department, Duncan received thousands of dollars in kickbacks paid in cash and checks from DANIEL DINGLE, the president of a medical supply company in Dolton, Ill. The checks were made payable to Helping Hands Properties LLC – a third-party entity managed by Duncan – and contained false and misleading memo entries in order to conceal and disguise the existence and purpose of the kickbacks. In exchange for the kickbacks, Duncan used his official position at the VA to fraudulently initiate and approve purchases of products from Dingle’s company, knowing that many of the products would not actually be delivered to the VA.
The fraud scheme began in 2012 and continued until 2019. In late 2018, after Duncan became aware that the VA Inspector General’s Office was investigating his conduct, Duncan created fake invoices from Helping Hands purporting to document work performed for Dingle’s company. Duncan also told Dingle to falsely tell investigators that the payments Duncan received from Dingle’s company were for work performed by Helping Hands.
Dingle, 53, of Riverdale, Ill., also pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge. He is awaiting sentencing.
Former President and Head Bookkeeper of Moving Company Convicted of Multimillion-Dollar Payroll Tax Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that a jury returned a guilty verdict against JOSEPH EUGENE LEMAY, a/k/a “Gene Lemay,” and JOEL LINGAT for criminal tax conspiracy. LEMAY is the former president of a company that provides moving and storage services (“Company-1”), and LINGAT is Company-1’s head bookkeeper. LEMAY and LINGAT conspired to perpetrate a long-running scheme to evade more than approximately $7.7 million in federal payroll taxes owed by Company-1 and affiliated companies to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The defendants were found guilty following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vysckocil.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Gene Lemay and Joel Lingat cheated the systems that are in place to protect hardworking Americans at the end of their careers. As a result, Social Security and Medicare were deprived of millions in payroll taxes. This Office will not stand by when employers violate the public trust by refusing to pay taxes meant to support their workers.”
According to the allegations in the Indictment, the criminal Complaint previously filed against LINGAT (where LEMAY is identified as CC-1), and the evidence at trial:
From in or about 2010 through in or about December 2016, LEMAY, LINGAT, and other co-conspirators perpetrated a scheme to defraud the U.S. government of payroll and income taxes due and owing to the IRS by Company-1 and affiliated companies. As part of the criminal scheme, LEMAY, LINGAT, and their co-conspirators created front companies, nominally owned by close associates or family members of LEMAY or others at Company-1; assigned (on paper only) foremen and movers working for Company-1 to the sham companies; and fraudulently made it appear that the sham companies were independent contractors, including by creating fake invoices by which the sham companies purportedly billed Company-1 for labor. Because the conspirators fraudulently made it appear that the labor was performed by independent contractors, Company-1 was able to deduct the cost of the labor as an expense on its tax returns, without withholding or paying over any payroll taxes to the IRS. Through the criminal scheme, Company-1 and affiliated companies evaded in excess of approximately $7.7 million in payroll taxes, including FICA and Medicare contributions, during the charged period.
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LEMAY, 63, of Delray Beach, Florida, and LINGAT, 62, of Jersey City, New Jersey, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the IRS-Criminal Investigation.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy V. Capozzi, Jilan Kamal, and Steven Kochevar are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Geoffrey Mearns and Julia Gutierrez.
Former Owner of Philadelphia CDL School Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Bribing CDL Examiner and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Vladimir Tsymbalenko, 53, the former owner of Vlad’s CDL School in Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $5,000 fine by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl for bribing a Commercial Driver’s License examiner to pass some of Tsymbalenko’s students who did not actually pass, or never even took, the CDL examination, and for asking a witness to lie.
On October 11, 2023, Tsymbalenko had pleaded guilty to one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of witness tampering.
“The last thing anyone should want on our roads are people behind the wheel of big rigs or school buses with bogus CDL certifications,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Licensure standards are intended to ensure that someone has the training and skills needed to safely move these huge vehicles and their cargo — human or otherwise — from Point A to Point B. As Tsymbalenko’s nearly five-year prison sentence shows, my office and our partners will work to hold accountable anyone seeking to evade such critical government regulations.”
“This sentencing of Vladimir Tsymbalenko demonstrates the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General’s (DOT-OIG) commitment to pursuing individuals in the motor carrier industry who are willing to compromise the safety of the traveling public for personal gain,” stated Christopher A. Scharf, Regional Special Agent in Charge for DOT-OIG. “Working with our agency, law enforcement, and prosecutorial partners, we remain focused in our efforts to prevent, detect, and prosecute fraud schemes that compromise the integrity of DOT’s safety programs.”
“Corruption and fraud, at any level, is not tolerated, especially for licensing standards designed to keep our community safe,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The FBI will continue to work alongside our federal, state and local partners to pursue those who orchestrate these fraudulent schemes which undermine the integrity of these licenses.”
The case was investigated by the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania State Police, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney K.T. Newton.
Former North Korean Official Indicted on Sanctions Evasion, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, and Money Laundering ChargesRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today charging a former North Korean official serving in Thailand, Myong Ho Ri, with conspiracy to violate U.S. economic sanctions bank fraud, and international money laundering.
According to the indictment, Ri arranged for shipments of goods to North Korea using U.S. dollar wire transfers without receiving a license from the U.S. Treasury Department. Ri is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and 18 counts of international money laundering relating to a scheme to smuggle goods into North Korea from Thailand via Dalian, China.
“As alleged, this defendant deliberately circumvented U.S. sanctions by using front companies to deceive American banks as he smuggled goods into North Korea,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will be relentless in pursuing those who violate sanctions and advance North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.”
“This defendant allegedly skirted the sanctions put in place by the U.S. government in order to protect our national security,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves for the District of Columbia. “He is also alleged to have thwarted U.S. banking laws, so that he could conduct business for North Korea, a foreign government that is determined to unlawfully expand its nuclear program. Working with our partners, we will make every effort to bring to justice the people who put this country at risk, no matter where in the world they operate.”
On March 15, 2016, the President issued Executive Order 13,722 to address the Government of North Korea’s continuing pursuit of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. That and subsequent regulations prohibit the export of financial services from the United States or by any U.S. person to North Korea, including the processing of U.S. dollar wires for transactions conducted overseas.
According to the indictment, beginning around February 2015, Ri used his position as Third Economic and Commercial Secretary in the Embassy of North Korea in Thailand to negotiate contracts on behalf of a North Korean company to ship goods into North Korea from Thailand, utilizing multiple front companies and co-conspirators in Thailand and Malaysia. Ri and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed the intended destination of the goods from banking institutions located in the United States and directed shipments through Dalian, China in order to obscure the true nature of their business. As a result, U.S. financial institutions unknowingly processed multiple U.S. dollar transactions for the benefit of North Korea.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigation’s Washington D.C. Field Office is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Tortorice and Maeghan Mikorski for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorneys Stephen Marzen and Tracy Varghese of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance was provided by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Grady.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Marine Sentenced to 9 Years in Federal Prison for Molotov Cocktail Attack Against Planned Parenthood Clinic in Orange CountyRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man who firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa and plotted other attacks – including an attack on the Orange County power grid in furtherance of a race war, an attack at Dodger Stadium during an LGBTQ+ pride night celebration, and the home invasions of Jewish homes in Los Angeles – was sentenced today to 108 months in federal prison.
Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty member of the United States Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the firebombing, was sentenced by United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney, who also ordered Brannon to pay $1,000 in restitution. Brannon has been in federal custody since his arrest in June 2023.
Judge Carney said Brannon “engaged in cruel and indefensible domestic terrorism.”
Brannon pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of conspiracy, one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosives, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, and one count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
“This defendant’s deep-seated hatred led him to commit a firebombing and plan many other acts of violence, including starting a race war,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “This prosecution sends a message that we will act decisively to protect all members of our community from acts of violence, and that we will remain united against hate.”
“The Justice Department does not tolerate the use of violence to intimidate and endanger,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This prosecution and today’s sentence hold the defendant accountable for placing lives at risk by launching a brazen attack with an explosive device against a health care facility.”
“The defendant violently attacked a reproductive healthcare facility and plotted multiple, potentially deadly assaults to advance his hate-fueled agenda,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant’s assault on the Costa Mesa Clinic was designed to terrorize patients seeking reproductive healthcare and the people who provide it. Such violence has no place in the national discourse on reproductive health. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute those who seek to use threats of violence, force, and destruction of property to target vulnerable communities.”
“Mr. Brannon’s deep-rooted hatred and extremist views inspired him to target individuals or groups who did not conform to his neo-Nazi worldview and, in one case, led him to carry out a violent attack which could have killed innocent people,” said Mehtab Syed, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “I’m proud of the hard work and collaboration by the JTTF whose members built this case and apprehended Brannon before additional acts of domestic terrorism could be carried out, as well as the hard work by prosecutors and agents leading to today’s sentencing.”
“This case represents the successful interagency coordination between NCIS, Costa Mesa first responders, and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Payne of the NCIS Marine West Field Office. “Such acts of terror in an attempt to preventing access to reproductive health services is intolerable.”
In February and March of 2022, Brannon and his co-defendants – Tibet Ergul, 22, of Irvine, and Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida – conspired to use a Molotov cocktail to destroy a commercial property. Brannon considered various targets, including the Anti-Defamation League office in San Diego, but ultimately chose to target a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa to scare pregnant women, deter doctors and staff from providing abortion services, and encourage similar violent acts.
During the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, Brannon and Ergul ignited and threw the Molotov cocktail at the clinic, striking the clinic entrance and starting a fire before fleeing. Brannon and Ergul returned hours later to surveil their work. In its sentencing memorandum, the government argued that “rather than allow the judicial and legislative systems to unfold, [Brannon] took matters into his own hands, weaponizing fear and intimidation to achieve his political ends.”
In May 2022, Brannon counseled Batten on how to “get away with” committing a similar attack to the Costa Mesa one. In June 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, its 1973 ruling that recognized a constitutional right to abortion, Brannon and Ergul planned to use a second Molotov cocktail to damage or destroy a second Planned Parenthood clinic. Ultimately, Brannon and Ergul abandoned their plan because they saw law enforcement near the clinic they planned to target.
Beginning sometime in 2022 and continuing through the time of their arrests, Ergul and Brannon discussed starting a race war by attacking an electrical substation with the goal of disrupting the functioning of the power grid in Orange County. On a thumb drive disguised as a military-style necklace bearing the motto for the Marine Corps, Brannon kept a file containing an operation plan and a gear list for targeting a Southern California Edison substation. Brannon possessed several items on the gear list, including a rifle with “Total [N-word] Death” written in Cyrillic and a recording of the 2019 mosque shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a white supremacist murdered 51 people and injured 40 others.
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Brannon used racial slurs for various minority groups, “made hateful comments towards all non-white individuals,” and discussed “cleans[ing]” the United States of particular ethnic groups. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Brannon texted a friend, “Can we just be done with elections and have the race war already” and complained that “[p]eople will never do anything if everyone keeps waiting for [a race war] to start on its own.”
Throughout the early summer of 2023, Brannon and Ergul also discussed and researched how to attack Dodger Stadium on a night celebrating LGBTQ pride, including by using a remote-detonated device. As part of those conversations, Brannon shared a “WW2 sabotage manual” with Ergul, discussed doing “dry runs” to “case” the stadium, and conducted research on Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. Brannon and Ergul were arrested two days before the event, according to court documents.
Brannon was motivated by an extremist neo-nazi ideology, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. Brannon frequently greeted his friends using “88,” which is coded language for “Heil Hitler,” and he called Adolf Hitler “a great man who loved his people and tried to save us all from the jews,” According to the sentencing memorandum. Brannon possessed antisemitic writings, drawings and literature in his bedroom at the time of his arrest and made comments to his fellow Marines including “All jews deserve to die.”
Just days before his arrest, Brannon began planning with a friend to rob Jewish residents of the Hollywood Hills. As prosecutors argued in court documents, Brannon’s “use of racial and homophobic slurs, casual expressions of misogyny, and persistent expressions of violent intent went far beyond empty words; rather, defendant intended – and in many instances planned – to take overt action that would at the very least scare and intimidate women, racial minorities, and the Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities, and would at worst harm or even kill real victims.”
At the time of his arrest, Brannon possessed a short-barreled rifle and two silencers, which he had not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, in 2022, Brannon placed calls to two foreign adversaries, hoping to offer himself up as a “mole” by providing U.S. intelligence.
Batten and Ergul pleaded guilty earlier this year to criminal charges in this case and have sentencing hearings scheduled, respectively, for May 13 and May 30.
The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigated this matter, with substantial assistance from the Costa Mesa Police Department and the Costa Mesa Fire Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Kathrynne N. Seiden of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Former Marine Sentenced for Molotov Cocktail Attack Against Planned Parenthood Clinic in Orange County, CaliforniaRead the Press Release
A California man who firebombed a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa, California, and plotted other attacks, including an attack on the Orange County, California, power grid in furtherance of a race war, an attack at Dodger Stadium during an LGBTQI+ pride night celebration, and the home invasions of Jewish homes in Los Angeles was sentenced today to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty member of the U.S. Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the firebombing, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney. Brannon has been in federal custody since his arrest in June 2023.
Brannon pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of conspiracy, one count of malicious destruction of property by fire and explosives, one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device, and one count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health services facility in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.
“The Justice Department does not tolerate the use of violence to intimidate and endanger,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “This prosecution and today’s sentence hold the defendant accountable for placing lives at risk by launching a brazen attack with an explosive device against a health care facility.”
“The defendant violently attacked a reproductive healthcare facility and plotted multiple, potentially deadly assaults to advance his hate-fueled agenda,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant’s assault on the Costa Mesa Clinic was designed to terrorize patients seeking reproductive healthcare and the people who provide it. Such violence has no place in the national discourse on reproductive health. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute those who seek to use threats of violence, force, and destruction of property to target vulnerable communities.”
“This defendant’s deep-seated hatred led him to commit a firebombing and plan many other acts of violence, including starting a race war,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “This prosecution sends a message that we will act decisively to protect all members of our community from acts of violence, and that we will remain united against hate.”
“Brannon’s deep-rooted hatred and extremist views inspired him to target individuals or groups who did not conform to his neo-Nazi worldview and, in one case, led him to carry out a violent attack which could have killed innocent people,” said Acting Assistant Director in Charge Mehtab Syed of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. “I’m proud of the hard work and collaboration by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, whose members built this case and apprehended Brannon before additional acts of domestic terrorism could be carried out, as well as the hard work by prosecutors and agents leading to today's sentencing.”
“This case represents the successful interagency coordination between Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Costa Mesa first responders, and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Payne of the NCIS Marine West Field Office. “Such acts of terror in an attempt to preventing access to reproductive health services is intolerable.”
In February and March 2022, Brannon and his co-defendants, Tibet Ergul, 22, of Irvine, California, and Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida, conspired to use a Molotov cocktail to destroy a commercial property. Brannon considered various targets, including the Anti-Defamation League office in San Diego, but ultimately chose to target a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa to scare pregnant women, deter doctors and staff from providing abortion services, and encourage similar violent acts.
During the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, Brannon and Ergul ignited and threw the Molotov cocktail at the clinic, striking the clinic entrance and starting a fire before fleeing. Brannon and Ergul returned hours later to surveil their work. In its sentencing memorandum, the government argued that “rather than allow the judicial and legislative systems to unfold, [Brannon] took matters into his own hands, weaponizing fear and intimidation to achieve his political ends.”
In May 2022, Brannon counseled Batten on how to “get away with” committing a similar attack to the Costa Mesa one. In June 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, its 1973 ruling that recognized a constitutional right to abortion, Brannon and Ergul planned to use a second Molotov cocktail to damage or destroy a second Planned Parenthood clinic. Ultimately, Brannon and Ergul abandoned their plan because they saw law enforcement near the clinic they planned to target.
Beginning sometime in 2022 and continuing through the time of their arrests, Ergul and Brannon discussed starting a race war by attacking an electrical substation with the goal of disrupting the functioning of the power grid in Orange County. On a thumb drive disguised as a military-style necklace bearing the motto for the Marine Corps, Brannon kept a file containing an operation plan and a gear list for targeting a Southern California Edison substation. Brannon possessed several items on the gear list, including a rifle with “Total [N-word] Death” written in Cyrillic and a recording of the 2019 mosque shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, where a white supremacist murdered 51 people and injured 40 others.
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Brannon used racial slurs for various minority groups, “made hateful comments towards all non-white individuals,” and discussed “cleans[ing]” the United States of particular ethnic groups. In the weeks leading up to his arrest, Brannon texted a friend, “Can we just be done with elections and have the race war already” and complained that “[p]eople will never do anything if everyone keeps waiting for [a race war] to start on its own.”
Throughout the early summer of 2023, Brannon and Ergul also discussed and researched how to attack Dodger Stadium on a night celebrating LGBTQI+ pride, including by using a remote-detonated device. As part of those conversations, Brannon shared a “WW2 sabotage manual” with Ergul, discussed doing “dry runs” to “case” the stadium, and conducted research on Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. Brannon and Ergul were arrested two days before the event, according to court documents.
Brannon was motivated by an extremist neo-Nazi ideology, prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. Brannon frequently greeted his friends using “88,” which is coded language for “Heil Hitler,” and he called Adolf Hitler “a great man who loved his people and tried to save us all from the jews,” according to the sentencing memorandum. Brannon possessed antisemitic writings, drawings, and literature in his bedroom at the time of his arrest and made comments to his fellow Marines, including “All jews deserve to die.”
Just days before his arrest, Brannon began planning with a friend to rob Jewish residents of the Hollywood Hills. As prosecutors argued in court documents, Brannon’s “use of racial and homophobic slurs, casual expressions of misogyny, and persistent expressions of violent intent went far beyond empty words; rather, defendant intended — and in many instances planned — to take overt action that would at the very least scare and intimidate women, racial minorities, and the Jewish and LGBTQI+ communities, and would at worst harm or even kill real victims.”
At the time of his arrest, Brannon possessed a short-barreled rifle and two silencers, which he had not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, in 2022, Brannon placed calls to two foreign adversaries, hoping to offer himself up as a “mole” by providing U.S. intelligence.
Batten and Ergul pleaded guilty earlier this year to criminal charges in this case and have sentencing hearings scheduled, respectively, for May 15 and May 30.
The FBI and the NCIS investigated this matter, with substantial assistance from the Costa Mesa Police Department and the Costa Mesa Fire Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathrynne N. Seiden for the Central District of California’s Terrorism and Export Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Former Lobo Football Player Guilty of Robbing Postal CarrierRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A former Lobo football player was convicted by a federal jury, after less than two hours of deliberation, robbing a postal carrier, stealing an arrow key belonging to the United States Postal Service, and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on January 18, 2022, Rashawn Boyce, 28, of Albuquerque, and his co-defendant, Marquae Kirkendoll, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, approached a mail carrier while he was sitting in his truck near Louisiana and Central, pulled him out of his truck slammed him on the ground. The mail carrier testified that each suspect put a pistol to his head and demanded his keys. The mail carrier handed over his keys before a neighbor who witnessed the altercation intervened, but Boyce and Kirkendoll ran back to their car and took off.
The mail carrier was injured in the attack and feared for his life.
Following the attack, investigators from the U.S. Postal Inspectors Service received an anonymous tip leading them to Boyce. Investigators surveilled Boyce for several days while investigating him and eventually executed a search warrant on Boyce’s apartment. There they found the clothing Boyce could be seen wearing in video of the attack. A revolver, and two semiautomatic guns were seized.
During a subsequent interview, Boyce named Kirkendoll as his accomplice. Kirkendoll pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy and faces not more than 20 years in prison at sentencing.
The Court ordered that Boyce remain in detention pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Boyce faces up to ten years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal system.
Boyce is also under indictment for trafficking methamphetamine into the Cibola County Correctional Center in May 2022, while being held on the robbery case. The trial for those charges is scheduled for later this year.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Glen Henderson, Inspector in Charge of the Phoenix Division of the Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement today.
The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Letitia Carroll Simms and Joseph Spindle prosecuted the case.
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Former Farm Foreman Pleads Guilty to Extorting H-2A Agricultural Workers and Tax FraudRead the Press Release
BOISE – Ernesto Garibay Garza, 62, of Alamo, Texas, pleaded guilty to extorting H-2A agricultural workers and tax fraud, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, Garza worked as a supervisor and foreman of farm workers at F.D.C., an agricultural services company that operates farms throughout Idaho, including in Glenns Ferry. F.D.C. employed H-2A agricultural workers each year from approximately March to November. Between at least 2005 and 2019, and while he served as a supervisor and foreman, Garza was responsible for preparing and submitting payroll timesheets for H-2A workers based upon the number of hours worked. Garza was also responsible for assigning various tasks and projects to the workers that he supervised.
Between at least 2014 and 2019, Garza charged certain H-2A agricultural workers a flat fee to work at F.D.C. under the H-2A program, with the fee ranging from approximately $750 to $2,500. Garza charged the fees without F.D.C.’s knowledge or approval, and the H-2A agricultural workers paid the fees to Garza each year because they feared that they would be fired or not allowed to return to F.D.C. under the H-2A program in future years if they did not pay. Garza was not permitted to request or collect such fees under H-2A agricultural worker rules and regulations.
Between 2013 and 2019, Garza also deposited approximately $493,153 in unreported income into his personal bank accounts, in part, from the extortion described above as well as a separate scheme to defraud the farm. Garza did not disclose the additional income on his tax return for the years 2013 through 2019, which resulted in false Form 1040 tax returns being prepared and filed.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, the H-2A program allows U.S. employers who meet certain requirements to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs that cannot otherwise be filled because there are not enough U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to do the work.
Garza is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18, 2024. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of Idaho State Police and Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Mazorol and Robert Firpo are prosecuting the case.
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Florida man sentenced to 20 years in prison for producing images of child sexual abuse and traveling across the U.S. to sexually abuse a minorRead the Press Release
Tacoma – A 42-year-old New Port Ritchey, Florida, man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 20 years in prison for production of child pornography and interstate travel with intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Samuel Aaron Leonard was arrested July 2, 2020, in Vancouver, Washington, just outside the home of the 14‑year-old girl he had spent months enticing online for sexual abuse. Leonard communicated with the girl on a number of social media platforms and represented to the girl that he was 20 years old. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, “To damage a life as significantly as you have is far worse than any aggravated assault…. You have to understand that your victims have a life sentence.”
“This case is a parent’s nightmare: a predator lurking online who preys on their child remotely and then travels thousands of miles to further harm a minor child,” said U.S. Attorney Gorman. “The investigation revealed that the victim in this case was not the first harmed by Mr. Leonard. This sentence is designed to protect the community from further crimes.”
According to records filed in the case, Leonard contacted the girl via a social media platform around April 1, 2020. Over the next few months, Leonard communicated with the girl on various social media sites and sent her a cell phone so that they could communicate by text and telephone. Unbeknownst to the girl, Leonard had installed tracking and surveillance software in the phone so that he could monitor her location and read her texts and emails. Leonard turned the conversations with the girl to a sexual nature and convinced her to send various sexually explicit photos.
The girl’s guardians became aware of the communication and contacted police in late June 2020. Law enforcement immediately seized both phones that the teen had been using to communicate and had an undercover officer take over the communication. Analyzing the communications and the cell phone information, the investigation revealed that Leonard had traveled from Florida to the Vancouver area via bus and was within a short bike ride of the girl’s home. When the officer, posing as the girl, revealed that the girl’s guardian had taken the phone Leonard had sent to her, Leonard said he would get her a new one. Police surveilled Leonard as he took a newly purchased phone, hid it in a package, and tossed the package over the fence to the girl’s backyard. Leonard was arrested shortly afterwards.
A search of Leonard’s hotel room revealed that he had a number of items used to restrain someone, such as ten sets of flex cuffs and two sets of metal handcuffs, as well as duct tape and electrical tape. He also had various sex toys and lubricants. In the plea agreement Leonard admits that in 2018 he traveled to Oklahoma to sexually assault a 16-year-old. Leonard’s phone contained videos of that sexual assault.
In asking for a 20-year-sentence, prosecutors wrote to the court, “Leonard has demonstrated a pattern of using minors to satiate his sexual desires. He used manipulation and hidden technology to monitor and control (the victim), violating her trust and disrupting her life. A significant sentence is required to reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, and provide just punishment for the offense. Only a prolonged period of incarceration will protect the public from Mr. Leonard.”
Judge Settle ordered 20 years of supervised release to follow prison, saying,
“When someone violates children like you have, there will be grave consequences, long prison terms, so we can begin to curb the terrible scourge of sexual exploitation of children from our culture.”
Leonard will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Vancouver Police Department, and Kalama Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kristine Foerster and Sean Waite with assistance from the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Florida Woman Arrested for Filing False Tax Refund ClaimsRead the Press Release
MIAMI – On April 12, a Florida woman was arrested today on an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on April 4 in Miami that charged her with filing false tax returns.
According to the indictment, from 2017 through 2021, Yolanda Dewar, of Sunrise, allegedly filed four false tax returns on behalf of a trust to obtain refunds the trust was not entitled to receive. Specifically, Dewar allegedly filed returns falsely reporting that the trust earned significant income, made payments to the IRS, and had federal taxes withheld on its behalf. In addition, Dewar allegedly falsely claimed that these payments to the IRS were more than the tax the trust otherwise owed, thereby entitling it to large refunds. Dewar allegedly continued this conduct even after the IRS notified her that her claims were frivolous. Dewar allegedly sought refunds totaling over $1.9 million, of which the IRS paid approximately $500,000. Dewar allegedly used some of the fraudulently obtained proceeds to purchase a car for a family member, get plastic surgery and renovate her home.
Dewar is charged with four counts of filing false tax returns. If convicted, she faces three years in prison for each count. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.
IRS-CI Miami is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Deric Zacca and Trial Attorneys Melissa S. Siskind and Kavitha Bondada of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-60051.
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Felon Pleads Guilty in Connection to Distributing Crack Cocaine, the Illegal Possession of Four Firearms, Ammunition, and a Glock SwitchRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Manchester man pleaded guilty today in federal court in connection to his distribution of crack cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, ammunition, and a machine gun conversion device (otherwise known as a “Glock Switch”), U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Joseph Taylor, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of drug distribution, one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. U.S. District Court Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for July 22, 2024.
On three occasions in November 2023 and January 2024, Taylor sold crack cocaine to an individual who was cooperating with the Manchester Police Department. When law enforcement searched Taylor’s residence, they found money that had been used in the controlled buys, four firearms, ammunition, magazines and other firearm accessories, and a 3D-printed Glock Switch. One of the firearms had previously been reported to the Manchester Police Department as stolen. Taylor did not register the machine gun conversion device on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) as required by the National Firearms Act. Taylor had previously been convicted of four felonies and was therefore prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
The charge of drug distribution provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of felon in possession provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and the charge of unregistered possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. Each of these charges provide for up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Hunter is prosecuting the case.
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Federal jury convicts three members of interstate drug trafficking organizationRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted three Virginia men today for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy and an incident that led to the deaths of two victims.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Cortney Allen Conley, aka KO and Allen Conley, 35, of Virginia Beach, managed a large-scale, interstate drug trafficking organization principally based in the Hampton Roads area between January 2020 and November 2022. The organization frequently sold drugs at “popup” shops, which regularly popped up in new locations. In addition to other duties, Javaid Akhtar Reed, 27, of Chesapeake, and Kyron Speller, 29, of Norfolk, provided security for the organization’s popup shops.
In 2021, Conley was robbed at gunpoint at a “popup” located on Providence Road in Chesapeake, after which Conley and his co-conspirators were regularly armed.
On May 13, 2022, two armed subjects attempted to rob the organization’s popup shop on Wintercress Way in Chesapeake. Conley and one of his workers discharged firearms during a gun battle resulting in the deaths of the two subjects. During the gun battle, another worker pistol-whipped one of the subjects. Immediately afterward, Conley and the two workers removed controlled substances, drug proceeds, and firearms from the popup shop.
Conley was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, psilocybin, and psilocyn; possession with intent to distribute marijuana; possession with intent to distribute psilocybin and psilocyn; possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and continuing a criminal enterprise. He faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years and a maximum of life in prison when sentenced on Oct. 25.
Reed was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, psilocybin, and psilocyn; possession with intent to distribute marijuana; possession with intent to distribute psilocybin and psilocyn; and possessing and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He faces a mandatory minimum of seven years and a maximum of life in prison when sentenced on Nov. 15.
Speller was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, psilocybin, and psilocyn; possession with intent to distribute marijuana; and possession with intent to distribute psilocybin and psilocyn. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when sentenced on Oct. 25.
Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; Ajay Lall, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Mark G. Solesky, Chief of Chesapeake Police; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen accepted the verdict.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan M. Montoya, Joe DePadilla, and Luke Bresnahan are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-147.
Federal Jury Finds Red Lake Woman Guilty in Child Abuse CaseRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury found a Red Lake woman guilty of child neglect and endangerment on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Following a five-day trial before Judge Katherine M. Menendez, Bobbi Jo Johnson, aka Bobbi Jo Kingbird, 46, was convicted last week on one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, and one count of child endangerment.
According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, between January 1, 2021, and April 29, 2022, Bobbi Jo Johnson engaged in, aided, and abetted the endangerment, neglect, and abuse of a child who was in the foster care of her sister and co-defendant, Trina Mae Johnson. The abuse included withholding food from the victim to the point of starvation, forcing the victim to stand in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, and assaulting the victim. As a result of Bobbi Jo Johnson’s and her co-defendants’ abuse, the victim suffered serious and substantial physical, mental, and emotional harm.
Trina Mae Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of child torture, one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, one count of child endangerment, and one count of assault on a minor with a dangerous weapon. Ellie Mae Johnson, Patricia Ann Johnson, and Bertram Calvin Lussier, Jr. each pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment. All five defendants will be sentenced at a later date.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, with support from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Beltrami County Sherriff’s Office, the Bemidji Police Department, and the Blackduck Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruth S. Shnider and Evan B. Gilead tried the case.
Federal Jury Finds Red Lake Woman Guilty in Child Abuse CaseRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury found a Red Lake woman guilty of child neglect and endangerment on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Following a five-day trial before Judge Katherine M. Menendez, Bobbi Jo Johnson, aka Bobbi Jo Kingbird, 46, was convicted last week on one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, and one count of child endangerment.
According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, between January 1, 2021, and April 29, 2022, Bobbi Jo Johnson engaged in, aided, and abetted the endangerment, neglect, and abuse of a child who was in the foster care of her sister and co-defendant, Trina Mae Johnson. The abuse included withholding food from the victim to the point of starvation, forcing the victim to stand in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, and assaulting the victim. As a result of Bobbi Jo Johnson’s and her co-defendants’ abuse, the victim suffered serious and substantial physical, mental, and emotional harm.
Trina Mae Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of child torture, one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, one count of child endangerment, and one count of assault on a minor with a dangerous weapon. Ellie Mae Johnson, Patricia Ann Johnson, and Bertram Calvin Lussier, Jr. each pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment. All five defendants will be sentenced at a later date.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, with support from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Beltrami County Sherriff’s Office, the Bemidji Police Department, and the Blackduck Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruth S. Shnider and Evan B. Gilead tried the case.
East Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to Prison for Interstate Threats to Injure OthersRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 16 months of imprisonment on his conviction of interstate communications containing a threat to injure another person, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Robert Notter, 35.
According to information presented to the Court, Notter made threats to numerous individuals, businesses, and organizations located in the Middle District of North Carolina while he was residing in East Pittsburgh. This included Notter sending text messages and leaving voicemails pretending to be another individual and threatening to kill the recipients.
Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Notter.
Conspirators Sentenced for Smuggling Narcotics into the Hillsborough County Jail, Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury to an InmateRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Seneca Dukes (42, Tampa), David Marty (43, Tampa), Emmanuel Gotay Hernandez (34, Tampa), Miriam Marti-Benning (49, Tampa), and Michelle Lipinski (35, Tampa) to federal prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine resulting in serious bodily injury. Dukes and Marty, who were the leaders of the conspiracy, were sentenced to 26 years and 25 years, respectively. Gotay Hernandez was sentenced to 9 years, Marti-Benning to 8 years and 2 months, and Lipinski to 5 years and 3 months in federal prison.
Dukes and Marty pleaded guilty on October 23, 2023, the day their jury trial was to commence. Gotay Hernandez pleaded guilty on October 16, 2023, Marti-Benning pleaded guilty on November 14, 2022, and Lipinski pleaded guilty on August 11, 2022.
According to court proceedings and documents, in March 2021, the group conspired to obtain controlled substances and smuggle them into the Hillsborough County Falkenburg Road Jail. Dukes and Marty were housed in the same pod at the jail, and Lipinski, who worked as a nurse at the jail, routinely visited their pod. Dukes developed a relationship with Lipinski and asked her to meet with Marti-Benning to get packages from her and bring them to him during her rounds. Marty had his sister, Marti-Benning, obtain controlled substances, package them, and give them to Lipinski. Marty also enlisted the help of Gotay Hernandez, who previously was an inmate in the same pod of the jail as Dukes and Marty. Gotay Hernandez obtained fentanyl, and, at Marty’s direction, provided it to Marti-Benning, who in turn provided it to Lipinski.
On March 29, 2021, Lipinski smuggled packages containing fentanyl and methamphetamine into the jail during her rounds and delivered them to Dukes. The next morning, an inmate in the pod overdosed on the fentanyl, but jail medical personnel saved his life by administering Narcan.
This case was investigated by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael Sinacore and Samantha Newman.
Competition builds rapport between police officers and local teensRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Rim rattling dunks and long-range scoring from beyond the three-point line provided the action at the recent Fourth Spring Classic Youth & Cops Basketball Tournament at the Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex in Miami Gardens.
Organized by the Law Enforcement Coordination and Community Outreach Section (LEC/COS) of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the tournament consisted of 12 teams, each one with six adults from local law enforcement agencies and six teens chosen by said agencies. Many of the teens were standout high school players with energy to burn. The large crowd oohed and aahed whenever they attacked the basket.
“There were plenty of fireworks for sure,” said LEC/COS Community Outreach Specialist Corey Mackay. “We had some very talented players—cops and teens—which made it really fun to watch.”
Participating agencies included members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; Hialeah Police Department; Davie Police Department; Fort Lauderdale Police Department; North Miami Police Department; Miami-Dade Police Department; Miami Gardens Police Department; Miami-Dade Police Department—Intracoastal; Miami Beach Police Department; Florida Highway Patrol (FHP); Opa-Locka Police Department; and Hollywood Police Department.
The championship game was a showdown between FHP and North Miami Police Department. The fastbreak-style matchup was closely contested but FHP prevailed in the end.
“We had some great teams this time around,” said Tournament Director and LEC/COS Chief J.D. Smith. “The games were exciting to watch, and we had a nice crowd showing support. Basketball is one thing, but we began this event to help establish a rapport between our youth and our law enforcement officers. That’s what I really enjoy watching … the interaction between them.”
Smith, a retired supervisor with the Detroit Police Department, knows full well the importance of changing a culture that, too often, amplifies the misconceptions between teens and the police.
“You must show teens the human side of police officers, and vice-versa” said Smith. “They are no different from anyone else. But too often all our youth see are authority figures. It’s crucial for them to interact in social settings where they can find commonalities. That’s what we want teens and cops to discover, that if they take time to see past their differences, they’ll see that we’re all human beings. If we can help do that, then it’s worth it.”
Multiple agencies participating in the tournament provided refreshments. Miami Gardens Parks & Recreation Department provided the venue.
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Colombian National Extradited to Face International Narcotics-Trafficking Conspiracy ChargeRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced the extradition of Gabriel Zuñiga (a/k/a “Ito,” a/k/a “Hito,” “Captain Ito,” a/k/a “Capi”) from Colombia based on a superseding indictment returned in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. On April 11, 2024, Zuñiga had his initial appearance and arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge William E. Duffin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On April 15, 2024, Judge Duffin ordered that Zuñiga be detained pending trial.
On November 8, 2022, a grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a superseding indictment against Zuñiga, alleging one count of international drug trafficking. According to the superseding indictment, from approximately February 2019 through March 22, 2022, Zuñiga conspired with Jean Eliobert Jasme (a/k/a “ED1,” “Eddy One,” and “Tio Loco”), Rafael Dario Gonzalez-Amparo (a/k/a “Rafa,” a/k/a “Sisi”), and others to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine intending, knowing, or having reasonable cause to believe the cocaine would be unlawfully imported into the United States.
The DEA Port-au-Prince Country Office and the DEA Milwaukee Field Office investigated this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Colombian government, including the Colombian National Police (CNP), and the U.S. Marshals Service, provided substantial assistance in this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Brady, Jr. and Gail J. Hoffman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Clay County Man with History of Domestic Violence Sentenced on Firearm ChargeRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Paul Steven Hulbert (28, Middleburg) to three years in federal prison for the unlawful possession of an unregistered National Firearms Act firearm (sawed-off shotgun). Hulbert made his initial appearance in federal court on November 18, 2022, and was ordered detained. He entered a guilty plea on June 20, 2023.
According to court documents and public records, in May 2021, a court in Clay County issued a “Temporary Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence with Minor Children” against Hulbert. The court extended the injunction until September 2022. The injunction specifically prohibited Hulbert from possessing firearms and directed him to surrender any firearms in his possession to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). In October 2021, Hulbert was convicted in Clay County of the misdemeanor crime of domestic battery. After the domestic battery conviction and issuance of the domestic violence injunction, both of which prohibited him from possessing firearms, Hulbert obtained seven firearms, including rifles, pistols and a shotgun.
On May 16, 2022, members of the CCSO went to Hulbert’s home to serve an arrest warrant for violating the terms of the injunction. Upon arriving at the home, the CCSO arrested him and searched the house. They located four rifles, a revolver, a pistol and a 12-guage shotgun. Follow up investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined that the 12-gauge shotgun was illegally modified, as both barrels had been sawed off. ATF determined that the 12-gauge shotgun was not registered to Hulbert in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Jacksonville Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Chambersburg Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Preparing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Guibbonz Marcellus, age 43, of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on April 12, 2024, by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 27 months’ imprisonment on 23 counts of aiding and assisting the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns. Marcellus was convicted following a jury trial in July 2023.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Marcellus operated a tax-preparation business in Chambersburg called M&M Confident Multi Services from 2013 to 2016. In an effort to increase refund amounts and generate business, Marcellus regularly included false numbers on the returns he prepared and filed. The returns falsely claimed, among other things, the federal fuel-tax credit, business losses, and deductions for charitable gifts and unreimbursed employee expenses. The Court found that the total loss to the government due to Marcellus’s conduct was over $208,000.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Miovas prosecuted the case.
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Canadian Man Sentenced for Operating $175M Psychic Mass-Mailing Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Canadian man was sentenced to 10 years in prison today in the Eastern District of New York for perpetrating a massive psychic mass-mailing fraud scheme that stole more than $175 million from more than 1.3 million victims in the United States.
Following a two-week trial, a federal jury convicted Patrice Runner, 57, a Canadian and French citizen, in June 2023 of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.
Runner operated a mass-mailing fraud scheme from 1994 through November 2014. As part of the scheme, Runner sent letters to millions of U.S. consumers, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable. The letters falsely purported to be individualized, personal communications from well-known so-called “psychics” Maria Duval and Patrick Guerin and promised that the recipient had the opportunity to achieve great wealth and happiness with the assistance of the “psychics” in exchange for payment of a fee. Once a victim made a single payment in response to one of the letters, the victim was bombarded with dozens of additional letters, all purporting to be personalized communications from the “psychics” and offering additional services and items for a fee.
Although the scheme’s letters frequently stated that a “psychic” had seen a personalized vision regarding the recipient of the letter, in fact, the scheme sent nearly identical form letters to tens of thousands of victims each week. Runner and his co-conspirators obtained the names of elderly and vulnerable victims by renting and trading mailing lists with other mail fraud schemes. In reality, Duval and Guerin had no role in sending the letters, did not receive responses from the victims, and did not send the additional letters after victims paid money. In fact, no “psychics” played any role in Runner’s operation. Some victims made dozens of payments in response to the fraudulent letters, losing thousands of dollars.
Runner directed the scheme for the entirety of its twenty-year operation, directing co-conspirators, who ran the day-to-day operations of the scheme through a Canadian company. Runner used a series of shell companies registered in Canada and Hong Kong to hide his involvement in the scheme while living in multiple foreign countries, including Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Costa Rica and Spain.
Spanish authorities extradited Runner to the United States to face federal charges in December 2020.
“This case demonstrates that the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its partners in the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) are committed to investigating and prosecuting transnational fraud schemes targeting Americans consumers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The global nature of this scheme meant that we had to rely on law enforcement from around the globe to provide evidence of criminality. We want to thank officials from France, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Canada, and in particular the Canadian Competition Bureau, for providing assistance in securing evidence in this matter, as well as Spain for arresting and extraditing Runner, ensuring that justice could be done.”
“Patrice Runner’s extravagant lifestyle, born on the backs of millions of older and vulnerable Americans, has come to an end,” said Inspector in Charge Chris Nielsen of the USPIS Philadelphia Division. “The conviction and federal sentencing of Patrice Runner is the appropriate punishment for someone who routinely preyed on vulnerable and elderly Americans. Postal Inspectors will continue to work tirelessly to ensure you can trust that the US Mail is free of these types of predatory schemes.”
Four other co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in connection with this mass-mailing fraud scheme: Maria Thanos, 60, of Montreal, Canada; Philip Lett, 53, of Montreal; Sherry Gore, 73, of Indiana, and Daniel Arnold, 62, of Connecticut.
USPIS investigated the case.
Assistant Director John W. Burke and Trial Attorneys Charles B. Dunn, Rachel Baron and Ann Entwistle of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided critical assistance in securing Runner’s extradition.
The department urges individuals to be on the lookout for fraudulent “psychic,” lottery, prize notification and sweepstakes scams. If you receive a phone call, letter or email promising a large prize in exchange for a fee, do not respond. Fraudsters often will use official-sounding names or the names of real lotteries or sweepstakes, or pretend to be a government agent purportedly helping to secure a prize.
If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with inappropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.
More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage at www.justice.gov/elderjustice. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
Bronx Tax Preparer Charged with Filing Tens of Thousands of False Tax Returns Causing over $100 Million in Fraudulent Tax LossRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Thomas Fattorusso, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”); James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Trevor R. Nelson, the Deputy Inspector General for Investigations for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging RAFAEL ALVAREZ, a/k/a “the Magician,” with conspiracy to defraud the United States, aiding and abetting the filing of false federal tax returns, attempting to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws, making false statements, and aggravated identity theft. These charges arise from ALVAREZ’s alleged orchestration of a wide-ranging scheme to file tens of thousands of federal individual income tax returns that included false information designed to fraudulently reduce the individuals’ tax burden and to make false statements to the IRS. ALVAREZ was arrested today and will be presented in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Rafael Alvarez was allegedly so prolific in falsifying his customers’ tax returns that he came to be known as ‘the Magician’ for his ability to make customers’ tax burden disappear. But, Alvarez’s sleight of hand was criminal tax fraud, a serious federal tax crime he was allegedly committing for over a decade, depriving the IRS of more than $100 million in tax revenue. Today’s charges, on Tax Day, should serve as an important reminder to tax professionals that when they try to cheat the public fisc they will face grave consequences.”
IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas Fattorusso said: “While Alvarez may have been known as the ‘magician,’ he can’t say abracadabra and make these charges disappear. This one person is charged with creating a criminal enterprise that defrauded the government of more than $100 million. The evidence points to Alvarez’s alleged scheme to file tens of thousands of fraudulent tax returns, while his company, ATAX, grossed over $15 million in revenue in just three years. Today’s arrest was no magical illusion, and Alvarez now faces the reality of his actions.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Rafael Alvarez, the CEO, owner, and manager of ATAX New York, allegedly orchestrated one of the largest ever tax fraud schemes by submitting false federal tax returns that ultimately cost the IRS over $100 million in revenue while simultaneously generating $15 million for his own company. Alvarez’s alleged 10-year fraudulent operation is not a magic act, but rather a deliberate slight against the integrity of our country’s tax system. Today, Alvarez must pay the price for his actions – the FBI does not tolerate those who steal from the government for personal economic fortune.”
TIGTA Deputy Inspector General Trevor R. Nelson said: “The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration aggressively investigates tax preparers who attempt to corrupt our Nation’s tax system. Our mission at TIGTA is to protect the integrity of our Nation’s system of tax administration. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who endeavor to corrupt Federal tax administration are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
As alleged in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court and court filings:[1]
From at least in or about 2010, up to and including in or about 2020, RAFAEL ALVAREZ was the CEO, owner, and manager of ATAX New York, LLC, also doing business as ATAX New York-Marble Hill, ATAX Marble Hill, ATAX Marble Hill NY, and ATAX Corporation (together, “ATAX”). ATAX was a high-volume tax preparation company located in the Bronx, which prepared approximately 90,000 federal income tax returns for its customers during this period. ALVAREZ both prepared tax returns for ATAX customers and recruited, supervised, and directed other ATAX personnel who in turn prepared tax returns for customers. During this period, ALVAREZ oversaw a sweeping fraudulent scheme, whereby he and his employees submitted false information to the IRS in ATAX customers’ tax returns. This false information, which included, among other things, bogus itemized tax deductions, made-up capital losses, phony business expenses, and fraudulent tax credits, served to fraudulently reduce the customers’ tax liability and increase the customers’ tax refunds from the IRS. In total, ALVAREZ oversaw ATAX’s fraudulent submission of tax returns on behalf of customers that deprived the IRS of substantially more than $100 million in tax revenue. ALVAREZ was so consistent at falsifying ATAX customer tax returns that he became known to ATAX’s customers as “the Magician.” Additionally, as part of ALVAREZ’s unlawful operation of ATAX, he and an ATAX employee made false statements to an IRS Revenue Agent. ALVAREZ’s operation of ATAX helped the company generate at least approximately $15 million in gross revenues over the period of in or about 2016 to in or about 2019.
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RAFAEL ALVAREZ, 60, of Cortlandt Manor, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and making false statements, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is also charged with four counts of aiding and assisting preparation of false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns and attempting to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws, each of which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. He is further charged with aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.
The statutory minimum and maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the investigative work of the IRS-CI, FBI, and TIGTA.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David R. Felton and Samuel Raymond are in charge of the prosecution.
The allegations in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Albany Man Indicted for Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Taykwun Smoaks, age 32, of Albany, was arraigned on Friday, April 12, on charges that he distributed, received, and possessed child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office, and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement.
The indictment filed against Smoaks alleges that, from February to March 2023, he distributed and received images and videos of child pornography over the internet, and that he possessed images of child pornography on his computer and external hard drive on April 5, 2023. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted of the charges, Smaoks faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Smoaks may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his offenses and forfeit the devices used in the offenses. Smoaks would also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
Smoaks was arraigned on Friday in Albany, before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, and detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for tomorrow, April 16. A trial will be scheduled before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci.
HSI and NYSP are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting the case.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
- Aiken County Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
14 April 2024
Thornton Man Indicted for Falsely Filing Client Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Lance McCuistion, 56, of Thornton, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury for preparing false tax returns on behalf of clients.
In July 2014, McCuistion plead guilty to preparing false tax returns in a prior investigation and was sentenced to probation. As a result of that offense, McCuistion was unable to obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). However, according to the indictment, from approximately April 2018 through April 2022, McCuistion used PTINs in the names of three individuals associated with McCuistion to prepare tax returns on behalf of clients. These tax returns claimed items for which McCuistion knew the taxpayers were not eligible in order to increase refunds or reduce taxes due.
The defendant made his initial appearance on April 12, 2024, before Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Weiss.
Case Number: 24-cr-00116-CNS
Four Guatemalan Nationals Charged in Large-Scale Retail Theft Schemes in Multiple StatesRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, RI – Four Guatemalan nationals have been charged in federal court in Providence, RI, with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen goods, having allegedly participated, with others, in a large-scale scheme to steal and re-sell high-value products from home improvement stores and other retailers in multiple states, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Court documents allege that Marvin Estuardo Morales De Paz, 33, Abraham Dayger-Enrique, 24, Sebastian Lajuj-Soloman, 30, and Jonathan Josue Amperez-Perez, 31, worked together and with others to defraud Home Depot stores mainly in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania by stealing and, at times, re-selling stolen goods such as electrical wire, flooring, power tools, and other items of high value.
Based on information from multiple police departments, a review of security camera footage from numerous retailers, and as well as the court-authorized seizure and review of cellphones seized from Morales DePaz, Dayger-Enrique, and Amperez-Perez, it is alleged that the four men and other co-conspirators have participated in more than 30 documented thefts. To date, based on arrests and law enforcement encounters during retail theft incidents, fifteen Guatemalan nationals have been identified as allegedly being associated with this retail theft organization. However, it is believed that not all members of the group regularly participate in these theft operations.
Court-authorized search warrants were executed on April 12, 2024, at residences in Cranston and Providence, resulting in the seizure of $11,000 worth of stolen goods from Home Depot and Khols; $83,000 in cash; and a Ford 2019 F150 vehicle.
Morales De Paz, Dayger-Enrique, and Lajuj-Soloman were arrested in Rhode Island on Friday and were ordered detained in federal custody at their initial appearances before a District Court Magistrate Judge; Amperez-Perez was apprehended in Pennsylvania and remains in federal custody awaiting a return to Rhode Island.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John P. McAdams.
The matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations agents in Providence, with the assistance of HSI agents in Boston, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Providence, Coventry, Warwick, Smithfield, and Johnston, RI Police Departments; Boston, Norwood, Bellingham, Marlboro, Seekonk, Avon, Auburn, MA Police Departments; Montville and Fairfield, CT Police Departments; and the Parkesburg, Downingtown, Lebanon, Wyomissing, and Reading, PA, Police Departments; Nashua, NH Police Department; and Marlboro, NJ Police Department.
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interstate_stolen_goods_criminal_complaint_search_warrant_and_arrest_affidavit.pdf
12 April 2024
Wimauma Man on Federal Supervised Release Indicted for Possession of Ammunition by A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Alfredo Davila, Jr. (30, Wimauma) with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. If convicted, Davila faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.
According to the indictment, on February 18, 2024, Davila, knowing that he had previously been convicted of a felony, was in possession of ammunition. At the time of the offense, Davila was serving a term of supervised release for his previous convictions. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Chang.
This case is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence for occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Wilkes-Barre Man Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms ViolationsRead the Press Release
SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ras Dalmar Johnson, age 27, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was indicted on April 9, 2024, by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking and firearms charges.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that on February 1, 2024, Johnson possessed with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, over 50 grams of methamphetamine, and amounts of cocaine and marijuana. The indictment also alleges that on the same date, Johnson, who is a person prohibited from possessing a firearm, possessed a Glock 26 handgun in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics and the Wilkes-Barre Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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U.S. Attorney’s Office Collects over $1.9 Million in Civil and Criminal Actions in Fiscal Year 2023Read the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota, under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell, has reported the collection of $1,937,264.31 in criminal fines, restitution, loan defaults, bankruptcy, forfeiture, and affirmative civil enforcement efforts in FY 2023. Of the total collections, $1.5 million was derived from criminal cases. A significant portion of this, precisely $1,100,870.12, was returned to victims of crime, underscoring the Office’s commitment to ensuring justice and support for those victimized by crime. The remainder has been deposited into the Crime Victims Fund, a crucial federal resource that provides financial assistance to crime victims across the United States. This fund aids victims in covering various costs such as medical expenses, lost wages, mental health counseling, and funeral expenses.
“Our mission extends beyond the mere prosecution of criminal offenders,” said U.S. Attorney Ramsdell. “It’s about healing wounds and restoring dignity to those wronged through our dedication to facilitating the financial recovery for victims to the fullest extent possible. Seeing the tangible benefits of these collections for the victims is not just satisfying—it’s a profound reminder of the impact our office can have on the lives of victims seeking justice.”
Additionally, the fiscal year saw substantial collections from civil actions related to delinquent government loans, including those related to education, small businesses, agricultural services, and housing. The enforcement of healthcare fraud and False Claims Act litigation also contributed to these achievements. Notably, in a case of wool subsidy fraud, defendant Howard Aleff was mandated to sell Iowa farmland to satisfy a $1.3 million debt. Meanwhile, the discovery of valuable religious artifacts in a storage unit belonging to former priest Marcin Garbacz led to a unique online auction, recovering over $18,000 for the church he victimized.
These results were achieved through the concerted efforts of the entire team at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, from attorneys who secure criminal restitution and civil judgments to the financial litigation unit responsible for enforcing payment. The use of various enforcement mechanisms, including voluntary payment plans, garnishments, and the sale of seized assets, has been instrumental in these achievements.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota remains committed to upholding the principles of justice and integrity, as demonstrated by the FY 2023 collections. These efforts not only highlight the dedication of the office to its prosecutorial and enforcement responsibilities, but also its unwavering support for the victims whose lives are impacted by violent and financial crimes.
Two Doctors Sentenced for $4M Fraudulent Urine Drug Testing SchemeRead the Press Release
The owner and the medical director of a Kentucky pain clinic were sentenced yesterday for their respective roles in a scheme that defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies of over $4 million for medically unnecessary urine drug testing.
Dr. William Lawrence Siefert, 70, of Dayton, Ohio, the clinic’s medical director, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and ordered to pay $1,968,763.10 in restitution. Dr. Timothy Ehn, 51, of Union, Kentucky, the clinic owner and a licensed chiropractor, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $3,773,569.30 in restitution.
“The defendants enriched themselves through a fraudulent urine drug testing scheme that cost Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies over $4 million,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is committed to protecting American taxpayers from doctors who abuse their positions to steal public money by billing for unnecessary medical procedures.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ehn and Siefert orchestrated a scheme in which clinic staff billed for urine drug tests that were not medically necessary but were lucratively reimbursed by taxpayer-funded insurance providers like Medicare and Medicaid. Ehn and Siefert continued in their scheme even as their expensive drug testing machine malfunctioned because it was not properly maintained, which caused the machine to produce results that falsely suggested patients were testing positive for street drugs like ecstasy or heroin. Insurance proceeds from urine drug testing ended up comprising three-quarters of the clinic’s revenue.
“These sentences are a testament to the fact that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand by while licensed physicians choose to defraud federally-funded health insurance programs in order to line their own pockets,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office. “As a result of a collaborative effort across all levels of government, patients will no longer have to endure unnecessary medical tests and the taxpayer’s money will not be wasted.”
“Together with our federal, state, and local partners, DEA remains steadfast in our commitment to identify and root out health care professionals who fail to live up to their responsibilities and commitments,” said Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Adminisration (DEA) Detroit Field Division. “These sentences should serve as a warning there is zero tolerance for fraud, no matter what form it takes.”
“Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare and Medicaid claims for medically unnecessary services pose a significant risk to these programs and the patients who rely on them,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “These sentences exemplify how HHS-OIG works diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable individuals who, to satisfy their own greed, exploit federal health care programs.”
“Through zealous collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we’re holding these defendants accountable,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman. “I’m especially proud of Detective Supervisor Mike McGuffey and the entire Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse team for investigating these crimes and delivering justice.”
On March 23, 2023, a federal jury convicted Siefert of health care fraud, and Ehn of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
The FBI, DEA, HHS-OIG, and Kentucky Medicaid and Abuse Control Unit investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Dermot Lynch and Lindsey Carson and Assistant Chief Lauren Kootman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Tucson Man Pleads Guilty to Mass Shooting Threat at University of ArizonaRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Michael Pengchung Lee, 27, of Tucson, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to Interstate Threats for transmitting threats through interstate communications to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. Sentencing is scheduled for July 3, 2024, before United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez.
The complaint alleged that on October 23, 2023, Lee made threats to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona in a group chat on Snapchat. Lee is not a student at the university, but expressed a desire to get revenge on “all the chads and stacies!!” “Chads” and “stacies” are commonly used terms by self-described involuntary celibates (incels). Lee made further reference to incel ideology and finished the conversation by stating “im gonna do it guys, my mind is made up and there’s nothing u can do or say to stop me.”
On Wednesday, Lee admitted that on October 22, 2023, he sent multiple Snapchat messages to a group chat threatening to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. Lee further admitted that in those messages he referenced incel ideology, language, and motivations, including referring to a well-known, self-identified incel and mass shooter, amongst other incel references. Lee also admitted that in at least two other Snapchat conversations, he threatened to commit a mass shooting at the university, citing the same incel ideology and motivations.
A conviction for Interstate Threats carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a maximum term of three years of supervised release.
“We must protect the intellectual rigor, diversity and safety of our universities,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Robust intervention and prosecution of misogynists who threaten young students is critical to public safety. Our thanks to the community members who reported the threats and to our law enforcement partners at the University of Arizona Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their quick and decisive response to social media intimidation.”
“All students deserve to feel safe at their schools, and threats like these deprive students of that right. We are extremely grateful for the brave members of the community who spoke up with their concerns and reported this to law enforcement,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Akil Davis. “We would like to thank our partners at the University of Arizona and the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force (SAVCGTF) for their collective efforts to ensure our college campuses remain a safe space for students to continue their education free of fear and hate.”
“This case is a wonderful example of our strong partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said University of Arizona Police Chief Chris Olson. “It also illustrates the sense of urgency in which the University of Arizona Police Department, the UA Office of Public Safety, and our federal partners will act when our community is threatened.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Arizona Police Department, as part of the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Rossi, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-23-01694-TUC-RM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-049_Lee# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Texas Resident Sentenced to Five Years for Arson, Assaults, and Animal CrueltyRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Raymond David Phillips, age 32, of Lindale, Texas, was sentenced to 70 months in prison for one count of Arson, 41 months for one count of Animal Crushing in Indian Country, and 6 months on two misdemeanor counts of Assault in Indian Country. The sentences will run concurrently.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Grand River Dam Authority.
On May 22, 2023, Phillips pleaded guilty to the charges. On September 3, 2022, Phillips and his girlfriend were vacationing at a resort area along the Illinois River when his girlfriend was arrested. Angered by the arrest, Phillips decapitated the resort owner’s cat, then began burning other guests’ camping equipment. Law enforcement arrested Phillips at the Cherokee County Detention Center, where he had arrived to bail out his girlfriend. After being taken into custody, Phillips threatened and assaulted jail and law enforcement officers.
The crimes occurred in Cherokee County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Phillips will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.
Ten-Time Robber Sentenced to Eleven Years in Federal Prison for $20,000 Robbery of Carmel Credit UnionRead the Press Release
INDIANAPOLIS- Marty McConnell, 64, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to eleven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery.
According to court documents, on May 8, 2023, the defendant entered a Teachers Credit Union in Carmel, Indiana, approached the bank teller and gave him a note threatening to “blow [the teller’s] f*****g head off” unless he handed over all the money at his station. The teller gave the defendant $20,000 and he subsequently left the credit union.
Carmel Police Department Officers immediately arrived on the scene and quickly located Mr. McConnell. During a recorded interview with officers, McConnell admitted to committing the robbery and keeping the majority of money in his car. He also stated that he used a portion of money from the robbery to get his car out of pawn, buy new shoes, and buy drugs. Officers searched McConnell’s vehicle and located $12,600 in cash and the clothing worn during the robbery.
Before robbing the Carmel Teachers Credit Union, McConnell was convicted of three armed robberies, six other robberies, and three batteries over a thirty-year span. He was most recently discharged from parole in November 2020, after his release from prison for a prior robbery spree.
“For three decades this violent criminal has terrorized innocent people, seeking quick money through force, violence, and intimidation. His crime spree stops here,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Violent crimes rob entire communities of their safety and peace of mind. Working closely with our partners at the Carmel Police Department and FBI, our federal prosecutors will continue our work to make our communities safer and hold violent, repeat criminals accountable.”
“This sentence sends a clear message that robbing a bank in Indiana will result in significant time in federal prison,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “Our law enforcement partnerships ensure that those engaging in violent behavior will be caught and held accountable.”
The FBI investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Hanlon. Judge Hanlon also ordered that McConnell be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison and pay $20,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy C. Fugate, who prosecuted this case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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