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Friday 16 February 2024
Peoria Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Commit Bank Fraud and Money LaunderingRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria, Illinois man, Richard Weiss, 62, of the 1500 block of North Knoxville Avenue, pleaded guilty today to one count of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sentencing for Weiss will be scheduled following the conclusion of proceedings against a co-conspirator.
At the hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley, Weiss admitted that he conspired with another federal defendant, Chad D. Campen, who is separately charged with multiple felony offenses, to create false and fraudulent documents. Weiss admitted that he created, at Campen’s direction, false bank statements, tax returns, and other documents for the express purpose of deceiving banks and other third parties.
In Court, the government stated Weiss had gone into business with Campen and allowed Campen to corrupt him into creating false documents, artificially inflating Campen’s apparent wealth and success. This included Weiss altering bank statements for Campen to make it appear that the account held approximately $200,000 more than it contained.
Weiss’ scheme with Campen began in or around August 2015, continuing to about January 2022, during which Weiss and Campen knowingly engaged in a scheme to defraud several financial institutions, including Community State Bank, headquartered in Galva, Illinois, with branches and offices throughout Central Illinois.
Weiss faces statutory penalties of up to 30 years imprisonment, $250,000 in fines and 5 years of supervised release on the bank fraud charge, and up to 20 years imprisonment, up to $500,000 in fines or twice the value of the property involved in the transactions and up to 5 years of supervised release on the money laundering charge.
The federal trial for Campen is scheduled to begin on April 8, 2024. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment against Campen is merely an accusation; Campen is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Agencies participating in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office, and the Internal Revenue Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas F. McMeyer is representing the government in the prosecution.
Pennsylvania Man Arrested for Stalking and Possession of A SilencerRead the Press Release
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On February 16, 2024, Michael Charles Hoffpowier, 46, of Middlebury, Pennsylvania, was charged via federal criminal complaint with stalking in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2261A, and Possession of a Silencer in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 5861(d). The complaint was issued by the Honorable Debra C. Poplin, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee. If convicted, Hoffpowier could face imprisonment of up to 10 years and other penalties.
According to documents filed with the Court, it is alleged that over the course of a few months, Hoffpowier tracked the alleged victim from Pennsylvania, to Texas, and finally to Knoxville, Tennessee. On February 12, 2024, the victim disclosed to law enforcement that Hoffpowier attempted to contact him/her through his/her employer by using a false name but using his actual phone number. The victim’s employer contacted Hoffpowier and cancelled his appointment. Hoffpowier responded by saying, “I’ll see you at 9:00.” The employer contacted the police. On February 14, 2024, witnesses watched Hoffpowier drive around the Knox County business. Knox County Deputies located Hoffpowier in a nearby parking lot minutes later. Following Miranda warnings, Hoffpowier admitted to making the appointment under a false name to surprise the victim. With Hoffpowier’s consent, Deputies found text messages on his phone from the victim instructing him to cease contact with him/her. Deputies arrested Hoffpowier, searched the car he was in, and found two firearms, one with an attached silencer, two sets of binoculars, and a key to the victim’s car.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee, and ATF Resident Agent in Charge, Keith Jordan, made the announcement.
This prosecution is the result of an ongoing investigation by the ATF and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, with support from the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office.
Assistant United States Attorney Miriam Johnson will represent the United States.
Members of the public are reminded that a complaint constitutes only charges and that every person is presumed innocent until their guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a comprehensive national strategy that creates local partnerships with law enforcement agencies to effectively enforce existing gun laws. It provides more options to prosecutors, allowing them to utilize local, state, and federal laws to ensure that criminals who commit gun crime face tough sentences. PSN gives each federal district the flexibility it needs to focus on individual challenges that a specific community face.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Contact your local police department to report stalking and stalking-related incidents and/or threats. Immediate and confidential support is available 24/7 through the National Domestic Violence Hotline by visiting thehotline.org, calling 1-800-799-7233 (TTY 1-800-787-3224), or texting “START” to 88788. You can also call the National Center for Victims of Crime hotline at 855-4-VICTIM (855-484-2846) or the Strong Hearts Native Helpline at 844-762-8483.
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Paycheck Protection Program Fraud Defendants Convicted Following Jury TrialRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Teldrin Foster and Carla Jackson were found guilty by a jury for their roles in schemes to steal Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Foster was charged with 14 counts of wire fraud, six counts of bank fraud, 14 counts of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, six counts of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution, and one count of money laundering. Jackson was charged with two counts of money laundering. After a seven-day trial, both defendants were convicted on all counts. Foster and Jackson were charged in a 16-defendant indictment containing 63 felony counts, alleging numerous conspiracies among defendants. This indictment is part of a wide-ranging investigation into PPP fund theft that has resulted in the convictions of 23 of 24 defendants charged during the investigation. A final defendant’s case remains pending.
“These defendants brazenly stole pandemic relief funds intended for struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said United States Attorney Ryan K Buchanan. “This investigation has produced charges against 24 defendants and secured guilty verdicts by a jury of the only two defendants to proceed to trial thus far. This successful prosecution is the culmination of a comprehensive collaboration between multiple federal agencies and our office that demonstrates our collective commitment to comprehensively investigating and prosecuting criminals who stole pandemic relief funds.”
“Foster and Jackson’s actions affected every tax paying citizen in this country and took away from government funds that were intended to provide relief to small businesses and employees who desperately needed it during the pandemic,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “These convictions reiterate the message that the FBI and our federal partners remain vigilant prosecuting people who misuse government funds for their own personal greed.”
“IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners will continue investigating and bring to justice those who committed fraud on the Paycheck Protection Program,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, a second superseding indictment, and other information presented in court: from April 2020 through August 2020, Teldrin Foster worked with co-defendant Darrell Thomas and others to fraudulently obtain at least 14 fraudulent loans. Each of the businesses obtained a PPP loan between $700,000 and $850,000, for a total of over $11.1 million. The loan applications certified that each applicant business was in operation on February 15, 2020 and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent contractors; that the funds would be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and that the information provided in the applications and in all supporting documents and forms were true and accurate in all material respects.
The PPP loan applications reported that each business had between 59 and 69 employees and approximately $295,000 to $342,000 in average monthly payroll expenses. To support these payroll figures, each business’s loan application was accompanied by an Internal Revenue Service Form 941, which employers use to report payroll taxes, for each quarter of 2019 and by a bank statement or a spreadsheet reflecting payroll expenses. But none of the businesses had employees or payroll expenses. The Form 941s, bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets had all been fabricated. Indeed, some of the supporting documents the businesses submitted were substantively identical, including identical Form 941s, identical bank statements, and W2 payroll spreadsheets where the reported figures were identical and only the purported employee names changed.
To conceal and launder the stolen funds, PPP funds were sometimes disguised by the defendants. Jackson acted as a money launderer, receiving more than $300,000 of the stolen PPP funds into her business’s bank account. The funds were transferred through two transactions, a check in the amount of $155,252.50 and a wire transfer in the amount of $179,985.72. The check falsely claimed that the funds were being provided to Jackson as consulting fees and daily business management, and the wire transfer paperwork falsely stated that the funds were for payroll services. In reality, Jackson was just trying to prevent the detection of funds obtained from the PPP program and seizure of those proceeds by federal law enforcement.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and the Small Business Administration-Office of the Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tal Chaiken, Samir Kaushal, and Nathan Kitchens of the Northern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Oxford Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and FentanylRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Samantha Miller, 31, of Oxford, Nebraska, was sentenced February 16, 2024 in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl. Senior United States District Court Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Miller to 60 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Miller’s release from prison, she will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
From July 2021 to July 2022, Miller and others worked together to sell methamphetamine and fentanyl in and around Kearney, Nebraska. Miller was identified after a confidential informant purchased meth from a different drug dealer, who told the confidential informant he had to pick up the meth from a different location. Law enforcement followed that drug dealer to Miller’s residence, where the drug dealer obtained the meth and then provided to the confidential informant. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement learned that Miller was working with others to deal meth and fentanyl and sending money from drug proceeds back to Mexico.
This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol and FBI.
Owner of Telemedicine Companies Charged with $110 Million Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The owner of Expansion Media (Expansion) and Hybrid Management Group (Hybrid) has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a $110 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), including orthotics such as back and knee braces.
Steven Richardson, 40, of Parkland, Fla., has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
According to the charging documents, between March 2016 and January 2023, Richardson, through his companies Expansion and Hybrid, entered into business relationships with telemarketing companies that generated leads by targeting Medicare beneficiaries. The telemarketers then allegedly paid Expansion and Hybrid on a per-order basis to generate orders for DME for these beneficiaries. To arrange for these orders to be signed, Richardson allegedly worked with medical staffing companies – including one in Massachusetts – to find doctors and nurses who were willing to review and sign prepopulated orders, typically without any contact with the beneficiaries. It is alleged that the records falsely portrayed the medical providers as having performed a legitimate examination of the beneficiary. Richardson then allegedly provided the signed orders to the telemarketing companies which sold the orders to DME suppliers. Richardson allegedly knew that these DME suppliers would use the signed orders to submit claims to Medicare for DME that was medically unnecessary, based on false documentation and tainted by kickbacks.
The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, supervised release for up to three years and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. 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.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Robert Coviello, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Carol S. Hamilton, Regional Director, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; and Patrick J. Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigation Service, North East Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Graber and Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Alexandra Brazier and Lindsey Ross of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Orleans Parish Woman Charged with Wire FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that SHAVONDA CHAMBERS, age 43, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was charged on February 8, 2024, with wire fraud.
According to documents filed in federal court, SHAVONDA CHAMBERS administered payroll for a local business and was discovered submitting false payroll vouchers as part of a scheme to steal money from her employer.
The maximum penalty for the offense is twenty years imprisonment and/or a fine of $250,000 or the greater of twice the gross gain to the defendant or twice the gross loss to the victim followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment of one hundred dollars.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Secret Service in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Threats Charge and Admits to Telephoning Bomb Threats to Five Schools in Los AngelesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – An Oklahoma man who grew up in Los Angeles pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for telephoning bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools, including two elementary schools, and threatened to shoot the children as they exited one of the elementary schools.
Marcus Jamal Sanchez, 45, a.k.a. “Marcus James Buchanan,” of Blackwell, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to one count of making a threat through interstate commerce to damage and destroy buildings by fire and explosives.
Sanchez, who was arrested in June 2022, has been free on bond since July 2022.
“Sanchez put children, teachers, and staff at risk through his reckless and irresponsible actions,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “Schools should be safe havens for our kids, and my office will use the force of federal law – when necessary – to prosecute individuals who threaten the educational safety of our young people.”
“The depraved act of making death threats to vulnerable schoolchildren is incomprehensible to most and will not be tolerated by the FBI, nor the American people,” said Amir Ehsaei, the Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “When threats such as these are reported, they must always be treated as credible and so they continue to drain valuable resources from law enforcement at the expense of the taxpayers who fund them.”
“The Los Angeles School Police Department’s commitment to the safety of our school communities is our top priority,” said Lieutenant Nina Buranasombati, LASPD spokesperson. “We are pleased with the significant step toward justice for the affected school communities. We sincerely appreciate the dedication and collaboration of all parties involved in the judicial process.”
According to his plea agreement, during a period of less than two hours on the morning of February 28, 2022, Sanchez called in bomb threats to two elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school in Los Angeles. In a call to one of the elementary schools, Sanchez threatened to shoot the children as they exited the building.
On April 27 and 28, Sanchez made additional bomb threats to two of the Los Angeles schools he previously threatened, threatening to shoot and kill children at other schools. On the afternoon of April 27, Sanchez called an elementary school and said to a school employee, “There is a bomb at your school, and we will shoot the kids when they get out of the school. That is what you get for not accepting me in ’86,” according to his plea agreement.
After receiving the threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none.
On April 28, Sanchez called the same school again and said there was a pipe bomb placed at the school’s address. After receiving the bomb threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none.
That same day, Sanchez called a different elementary school and said, “Stop playing games; you know who this is. I am going to shoot the school. I know the kids are there.” Afterwards, the school was placed on lockdown, but – as with all the incidents – no explosives or unusual items were found.
United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a June 7 sentencing hearing in this case, at which time Sanchez will face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The FBI and the Los Angeles School Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant United State Attorney Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.
Oakland Resident Charged for Series of Bank RobberiesRead the Press Release
OAKLAND – Naikano Tuipulotu made his initial appearance on February 15, 2024, to face charges presented in a criminal complaint alleging he committed, and attempted to commit, a series of bank robberies in the East Bay, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp.
According to the complaint affidavit, from October 23, 2023, through January 13, 2024, Tuipulotu, 30, of Oakland, robbed three banks and attempted to rob two others, each in Alameda County. During the robberies and attempted robberies, Tuipulotu passed handwritten notes stating that he had a gun and demanded money from bank tellers. The criminal complaint charges Tuipulotu with bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a).
Tuipulotu was arrested on February 14, 2024, and made his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland the following day. Tuipulotu remains in custody pending further proceedings in the case. Tuipulotu’s next scheduled appearance is at 10:30 a.m. on February 21, 2024, for status regarding detention before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kandis A. Westmore.
A criminal complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate, for a single violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonah Ross is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the San Leandro, Fremont, and Hayward Police Departments.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 19 Years in Prison for Kidnapping a Young Woman in Center City Philadelphia, Attempting to Kidnap AnotherRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jacob Montague, 38, of Wilson, North Carolina, was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky for attempting to kidnap a young woman in Center City Philadelphia in November of 2020, and then kidnapping another young woman the following day.
On November 1, 2020, at approximately 11:00 p.m., the defendant approached a young woman in Center City, brandished a knife, and ordered his victim to come with him. The victim responded by calling 911, and the defendant proceeded to retreat to his vehicle and drive away.
The next day, Montague returned to Center City. At around 5:30 p.m., he snuck up behind a young woman walking her dog near the Schuylkill River Park. The defendant rushed up to his victim, put a knife to her throat, and dragged her into his vehicle. Fortunately, nearby civilians intervened before the defendant could drive away from the scene. After a physical struggle, the civilians freed the victim from the defendant’s vehicle, and police arrived and arrested the defendant. The victim was injured during the attack and required multiple stitches following the kidnapping.
Montague pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnapping and kidnapping on April 10, 2023.
“Anyone who tries to snatch a stranger off the street isn’t fit to walk those streets with the rest of us,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “Jacob Montague did so at knifepoint — not just once, but twice in two days. He’s a clear threat to public safety, and for the protection of everyone in Philadelphia and beyond, Mr. Montague needs to be behind bars. Today’s sentence ensures he’ll be there for a very long time.”
“Mr. Montague used a weapon and attempted to forcibly kidnap strangers off the street," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “The sentence handed out today demonstrates that brazen acts such as these are not tolerated in our city. The FBI thanks our partners, the Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania State Police, for their invaluable assistance in removing violent criminals like Mr. Montague from the communities we serve.”
“The sentencing of Jacob Montague to 19 years in prison sends a clear message that predatory behavior like this will not be tolerated in Philadelphia,” said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. “Montague's attempted kidnapping and subsequent kidnapping were terrifying acts of violence that left lasting physical and emotional scars on his victims. This case also highlights the bravery of the bystanders who intervened and risked their safety to free the victim and help apprehend the suspect. Their actions prevented further harm and demonstrate the power of community in keeping our streets safe. This sentence also reflects the tireless work of the FBI and the Philadelphia Police Department in investigating these crimes and securing justice. While no sentence can fully undo the harm inflicted, this outcome should serve as a deterrent to anyone considering similar acts. The PPD remains committed to working with all our partners to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone who lives, works, or visits Philadelphia.”
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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philadelphia Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Priya DeSouza and Michael Miller.
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that EDMOND TRUEBLOOD, age 37, of New Orleans, plead guilty on February 15, 2024, to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
According to court documents, TRUEBLOOD was previously convicted of felony offenses in Orleans Parish. Due to his criminal history, he is prohibited from having a firearm. He is now charged with possessing a firearm on May 22, 2023. On May 22, 2023, TRUEBLOOD possessed a stolen Glock Model 48, 9-millimeter, semi-automatic pistol in a bag he carried around his person in New Orleans.
The maximum penalties for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon are fifteen (15) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, not more than (3) years of supervised release, and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee.
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.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Rayburn of the Violent Crime Unit.
Montgomery, Alabama Man Convicted of Illegally Possessing a Firearm in Pike CountyRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – On February 14, 2024, a federal jury convicted 30-year-old Deion Larry Jamar Mangum, a resident of Montgomery, Alabama, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced Acting United States Attorney Jonathan S. Ross.
According to court records and evidence presented during Mangum’s trial, on November 7, 2022, law enforcement officers in Brundidge, Alabama, responded to a residence after receiving reports of a domestic disturbance involving a firearm. Deputies arrived at the scene and spoke with the potential victim, then located Mangum nearby. He was putting air in a tire on his vehicle. During questioning, Mangum stated that he could not find his cell phone. Investigators dialed Mangum’s number to help locate the device. After a brief search of the property, deputies located Magnum’s ringing cell phone, along with a loaded AK-47 style pistol, at the edge of the wood line a short distance from the scene. At trial, two witnesses testified that, before the officers found the firearm next to Mangum’s phone, they saw the weapon in Mangum’s possession. Mangum has previous felony convictions and is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Following this conviction, Mangum faces a sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison with no parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for Mangum in the coming months. At that hearing, a federal district court judge will determine Mangum’s sentence after considering the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pike County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorneys Brandon W. Bates and Michelle R. Turner prosecuted.
Middleburgh Woman Sentenced to 36 Months for Drug CrimesRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Teirra Pickering, age 59, of Middleburgh, New York, was sentenced today to 36 months in prison on four counts of distributing controlled substances, including heroin-fentanyl mixtures. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), New York Division, made the announcement.
As part of her prior guilty plea, Pickering admitted that she distributed heroin-fentanyl mixtures on four occasions between late February 2021 and early March 2021. One of the people Pickering distributed to died hours later of an overdose.
United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci also imposed a 3-year term of supervised release to follow the prison term.
DEA and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin C. Segovia prosecuted the case.
Mexican National Sentenced to 27 Months for Illegal Border CrossingRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Mexican national was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for entering the United States after a prior removal.
U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Alberto Beltran-Martinez, 44, to 27 months in prison. Beltran-Martinez has been incarcerated since he was arrested on April 29, 2023. He pleaded guilty on September 25, 2023.
According to court records, Beltran-Martinez and six other individuals were pulled over in Hamlin near the international boundary by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent from the Van Buren Border Patrol Station. Immigration records showed that Beltran-Martinez had previously been removed from the U.S. in September 2006 at Laredo, Texas and in April 2021 at Del Rio, Texas. He had not obtained the express consent of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigated the case.
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Metro-Atlanta Man Charged with Fraud and Money Laundering of COVID-19 Unemployment Funds and IRS Tax RefundsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Nnamdi Iheanacho has been indicted on federal charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy, and concealment money laundering for stealing COVID-19 relief funds and federal tax refunds based on fraud and identity theft.
“Iheanacho allegedly defrauded government funds during the COVID-19 pandemic involving state unemployment insurance funds and tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “COVID-19 pandemic funds provided vital aid for citizens who qualified for them. Congress did not intend for individuals to illegally profit from the CARES Act program. The indictment alleges that Iheanacho compounded his fraudulent conduct by stealing the identities of others to perpetrate his schemes, including filing fraudulent tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service.”
“An important part of the mission of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving unemployment insurance programs. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of allegations,” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Southeast Region.
“Iheanacho’s alleged criminal acts deprived the government of funding for its programs and possibly created financial instability for his victims of identity theft,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. "IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our law enforcement partners are diligently working to find those who show so much disregard to others in their pursuit of greed.”
“This defendant is charged with taking advantage of our nation during an unprecedented time of a pandemic and stealing money intended to help others who were struggling,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “We are proud to work with our partner agencies to investigate and stamp out these schemes.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act provided emergency assistance for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance that provided up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits and funding to states for administration of the program. An individual receiving these benefits might also receive a $600 weekly benefit in federal funds under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program if he or she was eligible for such compensation for the week claimed.
To fraudulently take advantage of the $600 weekly federal benefit, Nnamdi Iheanacho, 38, of Dacula, Georgia, allegedly applied online for unemployment insurance benefits for numerous individuals using stolen personal identifying information. Simultaneously, Iheanacho allegedly filed federal income tax returns using stolen identity information. He then allegedly laundered the proceeds of his fraud schemes.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Klapman is prosecuting the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6280. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Manchester Man Pleads Guilty for Intending to Traffic Methamphetamine and FentanylRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A Manchester man pleaded guilty today in federal court for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
John Barber, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine and fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2024. The defendant was indicted on September 6, 2022, but pleaded guilty to a superseding information that included an additional drug charge.
On February 23, 2022, a New Hampshire State Trooper stopped a car in Concord on Interstate 93, in which the defendant was a passenger. After the driver gave consent to search the car, law enforcement found numerous plastic baggies, a digital scale and a locked zipper pouch in the vicinity of the defendant. The pouch was later searched pursuant to a warrant and contained roughly 45 grams of methamphetamine and 130 grams of fentanyl. The defendant was carrying $3000 in cash, and he admitted that he intended to distribute the pouch of drugs to someone else.
Later, on August 23, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of the defendant’s camper in Manchester and found approximately 75 grams of methamphetamine in a plastic bag containing other smaller baggies. The defendant admitted the methamphetamine was his. The method of packaging and quantity of methamphetamine is indicative of distribution.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least three (3) years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. 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 Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Gingrande and Matthew Hunter are prosecuting the case.
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Man Who Stole 70 Firearms Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Midland man who committed a burglary of College Avenue Jewelry and Pawn in Snyder, Texas sentenced to the statutory maximum 10 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Bradley Lynn Bishop, 46, was charged via criminal complaint in June 2023 and pleaded guilty to one count of theft of firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee in September 2023. Mr. Bishop was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix who made the statement at the hearing, “We have to bolt down everything in this courtroom or you would steal it.”
“We are proud to have worked with ATF on this case and will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to bring defendants who steal from Federal Firearms Licensees to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Simonton. “Solving burglaries and robberies of our Federal Firearm Licensee partners is at the top of ATF’s national priorities.”
“Mr. Bishop thought that he could act under the cover of darkness, in a company vehicle, and make a quick buck selling stolen guns. He was wrong. He was wrong again when he tried to run from officers. Snyder and the surrounding communities are safer with Mr. Bishop off the streets,” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.
According to court documents, on June 26, 2023, law enforcement responded to College Avenue Jewelry and Pawn in response to a burglary where 70 firearms were stolen from the business the previous day. During the investigation, law enforcement determined that the building appeared to have been breached by a hole cut in the wall. Once in the building the suspect unlocked and unlatched the rear door. The alarm sensors on the top of the rear exit door were also disabled and wires removed. A nearby business had a camera that faced the rear of the Pawn shop and revealed a white Dodge pickup pulling into the back of the shop. The truck was observed coming and going from the business three separate times, an individual could be seen walking to and from the truck with a bag in their hand.
Law enforcement searched a local license plate reader system for a vehicle matching the Dodge truck and a match was found. The license plate was confirmed to be a company truck for Trend Services. The company was contacted and they advised that the vehicle had GPS tracking and had been located near College Avenue Jewelry and Pawn on the night of the burglary. Trend Services also confirmed that Mr. Bishop was the driver assigned to that vehicle.
The day after the burglary, law enforcement went to the residence of Mr. Bishop. The Doge pickup was parked behind the house, as agents approached the pickup they observed the driver’s side door open and a pair of feet on the ground next to the door. Mr. Bishop fled the scene on foot and was taken into custody after a foot chase. A search of the truck revealed six of the firearms and an electrical meter stolen from the Pawn shop.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, with assistance from the Snyder Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt prosecuted the case.
Man Involved in Raleigh Armed Robberies Sentenced to More Than 19 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Amir Williams, age 25, of Newark, New Jersey was sentenced to 235 months in prison for a string of armed robberies in Raleigh in March of 2022. Williams pled guilty on October 10, 2023, to two counts of interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting and a single count of brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence.
“Nobody should have a gun put to their face simply for doing their job. We want to locate this brazen violence in Raleigh,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Our Violent Crime Action Plan puts dangerous felons like Williams at the top of our priority list.”
According to court records and evidence presented in court, between March 4 and March 7, 2022, Williams robbed a Dollar General and a Circle K gas station in Raleigh. In each instance Williams entered the business with a co-conspirator, then he would point a firearm at an employee and demand money while counting down to zero. He and his co-conspirator would then leave the business in a stolen vehicle to escape with the proceeds from the robberies. Williams was arrested on April 1, 2022, on an unrelated matter and ultimately confessed to his participation in the robberies.
The conviction is a result of the ongoing Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) initiative which is a collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, and interagency coordination and intelligence-led policing.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leonard Champaign prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-CR-00045-M.
Man Indicted for Impersonating a U.S. Marshal and Fraudulently Obtaining $39,000Read the Press Release
Yakima, Washington - On February 7,2024, a federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington returned an indictment charging Charmmorro Vijay Strothers with one count of Wire Fraud and one count of False Personation of an Officer or Employee of the United States.
The indictment alleged that on August 13, 2023, Strothers rented a car at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and drove to Yakima, Washington. Two days later, on August 15, Strothers’ co-schemer called the victim, told her she was speaking with law enforcement, and that she had an active warrant for her arrest. The co-schemer then told the victim that to avoid arrest, she needed to drive to Egley’s Bail Bonds in Yakima and pay a bond of $14,000. The co-schemer remained on the phone with the victim, while she withdrew $14,000 from her bank account and traveled to a parking lot across from Egley’s Bail Bonds.
When the victim arrived, Strothers allegedly approached, collected the cash, and gave the victim a handwritten receipt indicating it was from Egley’s Bail Bonds and listing a fraudulent case number.
A short time later, the co-schemer called the victim a second time and told her a felony warrant was issued for her arrest. Again, the victim was told, to avoid arrest, she needed to drive to the parking lot near Egley’s Bail Bonds and pay a bond of $25,000. When the victim again arrived, Strothers collected the additional $25,000 payment. Strothers falsely told the victim he could not provide identification information, such as a badge number, because he was United States Marshal.
“Impersonating a law enforcement officer and using the threat of arrest to commit fraud is an affront to our justice system and the men and women in law enforcement who work to keep our communities safe,” said United States Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref. “My office is committed to stopping all fraudsters, no matter the shape or scope of their schemes.”
This case is being investigated by the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Pratten is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Case: 1:24-cr-02006-SAB
Lincoln Woman Pleads Guilty to High-Speed Flight from Immigration Checkpoint in ShermanRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Lincoln woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to fleeing and evading a U.S. immigration checkpoint in Sherman and leading U.S. Border Patrol agents on a high-speed pursuit.
According to court records, in May 2023, Shania England, 24, and a passenger were traveling southbound on I-95, when England drove up to and stopped at a checkpoint being operated by the U.S. Border Patrol in Sherman. When an agent instructed England to pull over to a secondary inspection area, she instead sped away on I-95. England fled from Border Patrol agents at high speed for about eight miles and was apprehended after crashing the vehicle in a ditch.
England faces up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine followed by up to three years of supervised release. She will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case with assistance from the East Millinocket Police Department.
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Lexington Lab Agrees to $10.4 Million in Civil Judgments to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations; Owner and Lab Officer Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A Lexington toxicology lab, LabTox, LLC, its owner, Ronald Coburn, 76, and its compliance officer, Erica Baker, 31, agreed to civil judgments totaling $10,458,933 in favor of the United States, holding LabTox, Coburn, and Baker liable for submitting false claims for urine drug testing services to the Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid programs. The agreed judgments, entered Thursday by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves, follow Coburn’s and Baker’s criminal convictions for health care fraud. In December 2023, Judge Reeves sentenced Coburn to 46 months in prison, and Baker to 6 months in prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement; both are required to report to Bureau of Prisons’ custody today.
Coburn owned and operated LabTox, LLC, a clinical laboratory that performed urine drug tests and billed them to Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid. Baker was LabTox’s director of operations and compliance officer. Both knew that Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid only pay for urine drug tests that are medically necessary. In his plea agreement, Coburn also admitted knowing that urine drug tests ordered by courts for use in judicial proceedings are not medically necessary, and thus not payable by Medicare or Kentucky Medicaid. With Coburn’s knowledge and approval, however, Baker recruited a company called Blue Waters Assessment and Testing Services to refer court-ordered urine drug tests to LabTox. Coburn knew this was not medical testing, but caused LabTox to bill the tests to Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid anyway, resulting in fraudulently-obtained payments of $1,864,429 between June 2019 and March 2021. Submission of these false claims for court-ordered urine drug tests constituted criminal health care fraud and also violated the False Claims Act, triggering additional civil penalties. Coburn and LabTox’s agreed civil judgment holds them liable for $5,593,287, because under the False Claims Act, losses to the Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid programs are mandatorily trebled.
Erica Baker’s sentence and False Claims Act judgment resulted from a similar fraud scheme. According to her plea agreement, she participated in a health care fraud conspiracy with Coburn between January 2019 and January 2021. Specifically, at Coburn’s direction, Baker solicited urine drug tests from substance abuse recovery programs that did not provide medical treatment—typically faith-based residential programs or homeless shelters. Baker knew that urine drug tests for these programs’ clients were not performed for any medical reason, as would be required before Medicare or Kentucky Medicaid would pay for the tests. As part of the scheme, Baker misled sober home directors, and induced the facilities to send LabTox more tests by putting facility staff on LabTox’s payroll and compensating them based on the number of urine drug tests sent to the lab. Despite knowing that this testing was not for medical purposes, Baker and Coburn agreed to cause LabTox to bill Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid for urine drug tests referred by these non-medical programs, resulting in fraudulently obtained payments of $1,621,882. Submission of these false claims for medically unnecessary urine drug tests constituted criminal health care fraud and violations of the False Claims Act, triggering additional civil penalties. Baker and LabTox’s agreed civil judgments hold them liable for $4,865,646, as mandatorily trebled damages.
“Medicare and Medicaid are meant to fund medically necessary health care benefits to millions of eligible Americans,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “When the limited resources of these programs are depleted by fraud, it defeats their purpose and diminishes their viability and effectiveness, deeply affecting us all. We will continue to do our part to prevent this destructive fraud, and to return these critical funds to their intended purpose.”
“Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare claims for medically unnecessary services pose a significant risk to the program and the patients who rely on it,” stated Special Agent in Charge Tamala Miles of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “In this case, the two health care executives and LabTox will be excluded from participating in federal health care programs for 19- and 20-years as result of the threat they posed to the integrity of those programs by their desire to enrich themselves. Our agency will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to investigate such health care fraud schemes.”
“This investigation revealed the subjects bilked American taxpayers for years by lining their pockets with millions of dollars of fraudulently obtained funds,” said FBI Louisville Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury. “This case demonstrates the commitment of the FBI, HHS-OIG, IRS, and the United States Attorney’s Office to rooting out fraud and ensuring the critical healthcare funds go where they are needed most – to the health and welfare of patients.”
The agreed civil judgments resolve a lawsuit brought by a private citizen under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Under those provisions, a private party can file a civil action on behalf of the United States, thereby bringing allegations of fraud to the Government’s attention, and share in any financial recovery. As part of this resolution, the individual who filed the qui tam complaint will receive a portion of the settlement proceeds. The civil case is captioned United States ex rel. Caitlin Secamiglio v. LabTox, LLC, et al., Case No. 5:20-CV-00305-DCR.
United States Attorney Shier; Michael E. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Miles; and Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office, jointly announced the sentences and agreed judgments.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, HHS-OIG, IRS, and investigators from the United States Attorney’s Office. Support was provided by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and the West Virginia Attorney General’s Office. The United States was represented in the criminal case by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Mattingly-Williams and Paul McCaffrey, and in the civil case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Corndorf.
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Level 1 sex offender pleads guilty to child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Zachary Feeterman, 29, of Tonawanda, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography was sentenced to serve 10 years imprisonment and 30 years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that in March 2016, Feeterman was convicted of attempted possession of a sexual performance by a child less than 16 years of age in New York State Court. On August 8, 2019, Erie County Probation Officers conducted a home inspection at Feeterman’s residence and found an unauthorized cell phone in his possession. A forensic analysis recovered approximately 375 images of child pornography on the cell phone, and 4,670 images and videos of child pornography in a cloud storage account. Some images depicted prepubescent minors as well as violence against children.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by members the Erie County Probation Department, under the direction of Commissioner Michelle Olszowy; the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia; and the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James P. Stauffiger.
Law Enforcement Authorities Hold Anti-Gang Program for the Scranton School DistrictRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office organized an anti-gang program yesterday for over 2,000 Scranton School District students grades 7-12. The event focused on educating students on the perils of gang membership.
In its auditorium and broadcasted to all their classrooms, the Scranton School District hosted subject matter experts from the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.
Presenters focused on the myth of gang membership and the destruction that follows the “big lie” - that gangs provide protection, family, and loyalty. The presenters highlighted the tools that law enforcement have at its disposal to prosecute those who join a bad association knowing of its criminal objectives. Those tools include federal RICO and VICAR statutes which carry substantial penalties. Students were also advised about the many resources available to them to escape violence and danger, and were encouraged that if they see something – say something. The goal seeks to keep students, their family, and our communities as safe as possible and to prevent harm.
“As our schools have seen an increase in gang activity and recruitment, and thus it is an important priority to educate students on the risks and consequences of joining a gang,” said U.S. Attorney Karam. “Our goal is to bring that awareness to students, and we are grateful to have strong partnerships with the school district and our law enforcement partners to support this objective.”
This event 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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Jury Finds Maryland Man Guilty of Armed Carjacking of Delivery DriverRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Hahqwon Beale, 25, of Greenbelt, MD, was found guilty yesterday of armed carjacking and related firearm offenses following a jury trial in Superior Court. The offenses were committed in Northwest DC on May 7, 2018. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Beale was convicted of armed carjacking, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a person with a prior felony conviction. Judge Anthony C. Epstein ordered that Beale be held without bond pending sentencing. Beale has been detained since his arrest on May 8, 2018. The sentencing date for the armed carjacking offenses is yet to be determined. Beale is also facing charges of first-degree murder while armed and related offenses for the murder of George Johnson, Jr., which was committed the same night as the May 7, 2018 carjacking. The homicide trial is scheduled to begin on June 10, 2024.
According to the government’s evidence, on May 7, 2018, at approximately 10:55 p.m., Beale and a female co-conspirator called a Pizza Boli’s restaurant to order food to be delivered to the 400 block of Farragut Street in Northwest DC. When the delivery driver arrived at the location, he walked to the trunk of his vehicle to retrieve the order. Beale approached the driver from behind, put a gun to the driver’s back, and demanded money. The driver gave Beale around $300 to $400 of cash from his pocket, which belonged to Pizza Boli’s. Beale and the co-conspirator then entered the victim’s vehicle and drove away. MPD officers located the stolen vehicle approximately 4.5 hours after the carjacking, with Beale and the co-conspirator asleep inside. Law enforcement officers took both suspects into custody. Following his arrest, Beale used a D.C. Jail phone to call an associate and arrange for a third person to retrieve and conceal the Glock 26 handgun that Beale had used to commit the carjacking. The firearm was recovered during a search warrant executed at the home of Beale’s co-conspirator. The co-conspirator previously pleaded guilty to robbery for her role in the charged crimes.
This case is being investigated by MPD’s Homicide Branch. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Ganjei and Charles R. Jones.
Jury Convicts Jefferson City Man of Armed Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
JEFFRSON CITY, Mo. – A Jefferson City, Mo., man has been convicted in federal court of the armed robbery of a Jefferson City credit union.
Tre Joseph Connor, 29, was found guilty on Thursday, Feb. 15, of one count of bank robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Connor entered River Region Credit Union, 3608 W. Truman Blvd. in Jefferson City, on the morning of Jan. 19, 2023. Connor, wearing a black ski mask, brandished a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic pistol and ordered a credit union employee to open a vault. Connor stole approximately $111,700 from the vault, filled a backpack with the cash, and left through a side door.
Investigators used security cameras from various sources to identify Connor, including Walmart security camera footage that depicted Connor’s purchases of clothing and other items used in the robbery.
Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Connor, who has prior felony convictions for dissemination of private sexual images and harassment, was on probation at the time he committed the armed robbery.
Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City, Mo., deliberated for approximately two and a half hours before returning guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark, ending a trial that began Monday, Feb. 12.
Under federal statutes, Connor is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of life in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Kummerer and Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa A. Pierce. It was investigated by the Jefferson City, Mo., Police Department, the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Boone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department.
Jury Convicts Final Defendant in Benton Harbor Gun-And-Drug InvestigationRead the Press Release
Last of 17 Defendants Convicted in Broad Federal Investigation Focused on Machine Gun Conversion Devices
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that a jury convicted Earl Austin IV, 22, of Benton Harbor, of two counts of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, five counts of distribution of methamphetamine, three counts of possession and transfer of a machinegun, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
“The national gun violence epidemic has harmed countless lives, especially kids and people of color,” said U.S. Attorney Totten. “Families in Benton Harbor deserve the right to carry out their lives without the shattering fear of shots fired and the horror it so often brings. We’ll never prosecute our way out of this crisis, which demands an all-hands response, but my office will continue to hold accountable the few who drive it.”
“Machine gun conversions continue to pose a threat to community safety, and criminals who seek to use violence for gain will face the appropriate consequences,” said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “I would like to thank our local, state, and federal partners who worked closely to disrupt this criminal enterprise that threatened Michigan residents. The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners in removing dangerous criminals and weapons from our communities to achieve the goal of a safer Michigan.”
On December 15, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan announced charges against 11 defendants, including Austin. The charges covered a range of federal crimes, including the sale of “switches,” small devices that turn semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic machine guns. The U.S. Attorney’s Office later charged six additional defendants as part of the same investigation. All have now been convicted.
The court has sentenced thirteen of them:
Defendant
Sentence
Jayvon Anthony
84 months
Demarcus Greely
38 months
Nicholas Hallo
46 months
Demitrius Seuell
33 months
Omarion Branch
38 months
Eric Williams
24 months
Torez Burnett
70 months
Quincy Bowman
60 months
Timothy Thomas
24 months
Mark Curtis
180 months
Jordan Allen
96 months
Calvin Hill
46 months
Joe Griffin
70 months
The Court has scheduled sentencing for Armando Villanueva on March 7, 2024; Rhonda Acklin on April 25, 2024; and Evorion Anderson on May 30, 2024. The Court has not yet announced a sentencing date for Austin.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Patrick Castle and Jacob Metoxen. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety, Berrien County Sherriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Michigan State Police, Benton Charter Township Police Department, Pokagon Band Tribal Police Department, Grand Rapids Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Michigan Department of Corrections, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
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Jefferson County man guilty of violent crime spree targeting Southeast Texas businessesRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Beaumont man has pleaded guilty to federal firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.
Brandon Tyrone Mayberry, 21, pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine L. Stetson on Feb. 15, 2024.
According to court documents, in April and May of 2023, Mayberry and Daniel James Leatherwood robbed several businesses in and around Beaumont at gunpoint. The robberies included two Game X Change stores, a Shell gas station, an Express Mart convenience store, and a Cindie’s lingerie store.
Mayberry was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 1, 2023. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the armed robbery charge and an additional seven years for brandishing a firearm during the commission of that crime. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Beaumont Police Department, Nederland Police Department, and Liberty Police Department and prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tommy L. Coleman with the cooperation of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
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Informational: Federal Court arraignmentsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt:
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Feb. 15 was:
Lawrence Michael Demarais, 46, a transient, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Demarais faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Demarais was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-07.
Jessie Ambrose Deaguero, 41, of Billings, on charges of theft from federal firearms licensee and possession of stolen firearms. If convicted of the most serious crime, Deaguero faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Deaguero was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-12.
Isaac Michael Price, 19, of Billings, on charges of theft from federal firearms licensee and possession of stolen firearms. If convicted of the most serious crime, Price faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Price was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-19.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Feb. 14 was:
William Robert Smith, 71, of Great Falls, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Smith was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-03.
Appearing on Feb.13 was:
Alvin Aubrey Roe, 47, of Helena, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and prohibited person in possession of ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Roe faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Roe was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-104.
The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
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Indian River County drug dealer sentenced to federal prisonRead the Press Release
MIAMI – On Feb. 15, an Indian River County man was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for drug trafficking. The sentence comes after he previously pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl.
On April 19, 2023, Juan Carlos Sanchez Echevarria, 34, of Indian River County, Florida, sold 55 grams of fentanyl in Fellsmere, Florida.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division and Sheriff Eric Flowers of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO), announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon.
DEA Miami Field Division and IRCSO investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Porter prosecuted it.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Even in small doses, fentanyl can be deadly. As little as two milligrams, about the size of 5 grains of salt, can be fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are the most common drugs involved in overdose deaths. Over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl. The State of Florida has also seen an exponential increase in overdoses associated with fentanyl. For more information visit https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/fentanyl.html# and https://www.dea.gov/factsheets/fentanyl.
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 23-cr-14035.
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Greene County Sex Offender Sentenced to 175 Months for Possessing Child Pornography and Supervised Release ViolationsRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Gregory Kurzajczyk, age 76, of East Durham, New York, was sentenced today to a total of 175 months in prison following trial convictions for possessing child pornography – crimes he committed while on federal supervised release.
United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.
Kurzajczyk was convicted of four counts of child pornography possession following a 3-day jury trial in October 2023. Kurzajczyk had prior federal convictions for receiving and distributing child pornography, and was sentenced in January 2017 to 72 months in prison and a life term of supervised release. Kurzajczyk was released from prison in October 2021 and returned home to Greene County under the supervision of the United States Probation Office.
The trial evidence showed that during a routine home visit on February 16, 2022, a United States Probation Officer saw an unauthorized laptop computer in plain view in Kurzajczyk’s bedroom, which led to the discovery of two more unauthorized laptops, and dozens of other unauthorized computer devices, many of them hidden under the covers of Kurzajczyk’s bed. Two laptops and two USB drives each contained a large amount of child pornography, including image and video files depicting the sexual abuse of small children.
United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino sentenced Kurzajczyk to a total of 175 months in prison – 151 months for the trial convictions, to run consecutively to a time-served term of 24 months for Kurzajczyk’s violation of his conditions of supervised release. Judge D’Agostino also imposed a 15-year term of post-imprisonment supervision, ordered forfeiture of the devices on which Kurzajczyk possessed child pornography, and ordered Kurzajczyk to pay $39,000 to victims whose images of sexual abuse Kurzajczyk possessed. Kurzajczyk will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison.
The United States Probation Office for the Northern District of New York initiated this investigation, and the case was also investigated by the FBI Albany’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Colonie Police Department and the New York State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Barnett prosecuted this case as a part of Project Safe Childhood.
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). 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Former U.S. Postal Employee Admits Stealing MailRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SHAWN R. FULLER, 37, of Hamden, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to a mail theft offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Fuller, while employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a mail carrier in Meriden, was under investigation for stealing mail packages. On April 17, 2023, an investigator observed Fuller at the Meriden post office opening two mail packages, removing two items from the packages, and placing them in the trunk of his car. He then notified his supervisors that he had to leave work for the day. Hamden Police subsequently stopped Fuller’s car. After a police K9 alerted officers to the possible presence of narcotics, a search of the trunk of the car revealed approximately four kilograms of a substance containing cocaine. Fuller was arrested at that time.
Fuller pleaded guilty to theft of mail by a postal employee, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for May 10.
Fuller is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Narcotics and Bulk Cash Trafficking Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with the assistance of the Hamden and West Haven Police Departments. The Task Force includes members from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service – Office of the Inspector General, the Connecticut Army National Guard, and the Hartford, New Britain, Meriden, and Town of Groton Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Dearington and Brendan J. Keefe.
Former Springville teacher pleads guilty to child pornography chargeRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Frank E. Noeson III, 46, of Holland, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer to receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that Noeson, who was then a 5th grade teacher at a local elementary school, engaged in sexual communications with a minor female (Victim) using Snapchat. The Victim was 16 years old when the communications began. During the communications, Noeson persuaded the Victim to create sexually explicit images and videos and send them to him. Noeson also engaged in sexual communications with another minor female victim, who was 15 years-old, using Snapchat. During these communications, the victim sent numerous images and videos of child pornography.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Buffalo Office Child Exploitation Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the FBI Miami Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Jeffrey Veltri, and the Tonawanda Police Department, under the direction of Chief James Stauffiger.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
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Former Public University Administrator Sentenced to 20 Months for Diverting $1.5 Million in Student Tuition PaymentsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Sandra (Sandi) Eileen Le was sentenced today to 20 months in prison, and ordered to pay at least $1,536,089.64 in restitution for wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. William H. Orrick, Senior U.S. District Judge.
Le, 55 of San Francisco, was indicted on August 26, 2021, and pleaded guilty on November 9, 2023, to three counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. According to the plea agreement, Le admitted she was the Academic Program Officer for the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Nursing’s Post-Master’s and Special Studies Certificate Programs. She abused her position by directing students in those programs to have their tuition checks made out to her, or to a merchandiser she purchased from, or to leave the checks’ payee line blank so she could then make out the checks to herself or her associates. She then deposited the checks into her personal bank accounts, including joint bank accounts that she shared with associates, and used the funds to pay for luxury items from that merchandiser. She also used the funds for gambling, home improvement, and other personal expenses. Le disguised and concealed her misconduct by generating false records of payments and student enrollment for her supervisors at the university. The investigation into her conduct revealed that Le diverted almost 300 such checks from November 2013 through March 2019, totaling $1,536,089.64.
According documents filed by the government in connection with sentencing, the investigation began in May 2019, when Le took a leave of absence while facing increased scrutiny from UCSF’s Audit and Advisory Services Unit, given the school’s inability to reconcile tuition revenues with enrollment in the programs Le administered. The government’s filings describe how, while Le was on leave, a program student provided Le’s replacement a tuition check written out to Le-- the student explained that the payment was per Le’s instructions. Thereafter, investigators conducted interviews of dozens of program students and completed a forensic examination of Le’s bank accounts. This and additional other investigation revealed the extent of Le’s fraud, and corresponding harm to the UCSF School of Nursing community.
Judge Orrick ordered Le to surrender on or before May 10, 2024, to begin serving her 20 month prison term, and found that restitution was at least $1,536,089.64, with the exact amount to be ordered after a further hearing. In addition to the prison term, Judge Orrick also ordered Le to serve a three-year period of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Kassabian is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Veronica Hernandez. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the UCSF Police Department.
Former Kentucky State Prison Sergeant Convicted of Violating Civil Rights of an Inmate and Obstruction of JusticeRead the Press Release
After a four-day trial, a federal jury yesterday convicted a former Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC) sergeant, Eric Nantell, on one count of deprivation of civil rights for his failure to intervene to stop the assault of an inmate, two counts of obstruction for misleading state investigators and one count of making false statements to a special agent of the FBI. Six other officers previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the assault and cover-up, and three of those officers testified for the government at trial.
“The jury’s verdict closes the book on an unfortunate chapter at this correctional center,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “All seven officers who participated in the brutal assault of an inmate or the coordinated cover-up that followed have now been brought to justice. The Justice Department will continue to hold law enforcement accountable for unlawful behavior that deprives those in our jails and prisons of their civil and constitutional rights.”
“Despite being a supervisor entrusted with the custody and care of others, Nantell stood by while officers beat a man, tried to cover up an investigation and lied to law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This disgraceful conduct not only caused injury to a victim but was an unqualified breach of the public trust and a grave disservice to law enforcement. Holding these officers accountable is an important step in restoring the public trust in law enforcement and protecting the civil rights of everyone.”
“Nantell not only took an oath to protect the inmates who were under his watch, but as a supervisor, he held a position of authority within the prison. By allowing this assault on an inmate to occur and then attempting to cover it up, he blatantly abused his power,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office. “The FBI will not stand for law enforcement officials who choose to violate the civil rights of those they are sworn to protect and, therefore, will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of wrongdoing and, ultimately, hold the perpetrators accountable.”
The evidence at trial established that the defendant was a supervisory sergeant at the facility when three officers, two of whom were members of the prison’s internal affairs department, assaulted a non-violent inmate who was lying face-down, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles and isolated in a prison shower cell. Nantell was standing at the door of the shower when the assault began, and he watched the officers repeatedly punch and kick the inmate in the head and back. After silently observing the beating for over 20 seconds, Nantell walked away while the officers continued to beat the inmate.
Within hours of the inmate reporting the abuse, supervisors of EKCC and state detectives of the Kentucky State Police opened an investigation. Nantell joined with other officers in a cover-up scheme to hide the truth. As part of that cover-up, he lied to officers of both agencies as well as a special agent of the FBI.
Six former officers have pleaded guilty in related cases. On July 26, 2023, former EKCC officer Randall Dennis pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of civil rights based on assault of the inmate and former EKCC officer Nathan Cantrell pleaded guilty to four counts of obstruction of justice for attempting to cover up the assault.
On April 10, 2023, former EKCC officer James Benish pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of civil rights based on his failure to intervene to protect the inmate and former EKCC supervisor Randy Nickell pleaded guilty to three counts of obstruction based on his efforts to cover up the same assault.
On Aug. 29, 2022, former EKCC officer Jeffery Havens pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of civil rights based on his assault of the inmate.
Finally, on July 11, 2022, former EKCC officer Derek Mays pleaded guilty to four counts of obstruction of justice based on his efforts to cover up the assault.
In a separate administrative investigation, the Kentucky Internal Investigations Branch (IIB) conducted an independent review of the inmate’s allegations. IIB determined that an assault occurred and that numerous officers had been untruthful about what they saw. As a result of their findings, numerous officers who were involved with the assault were terminated, demoted or voluntarily resigned their positions with the Kentucky Department of Corrections within a year of the incident.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 10. Nantell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the deprivation of rights offense, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for obstructing state investigators and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for lying to the FBI. A federal district court judge will determine any sentences after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Dembo and Mary Melton for the Eastern District of Kentucky prosecuted the case in partnership with Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson of the Civil Rights Division.
Former Illinois State Senator, Gubernatorial Candidate Sam McCann Pleads Guilty to Fraudulent Use of Campaign Funds, Money Laundering, Tax EvasionRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – During the third day of former Illinois State Senator William Samuel McCann Jr.’s bench trial before U.S. District Judge Colleen Lawless, McCann pleaded guilty to nine counts of the indictment which charged him with seven counts of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of tax evasion related to his alleged misuse of campaign funds for personal expenses.
Prior to the commencement of the trial, the Court revoked McCann’s pretrial release and ordered that he be detained. During the trial, the government’s evidence established, and McCann admitted during the plea hearing, that from about May 2015 to June 2020, McCann engaged in a scheme to convert more than $200,000 and potentially more than $500,000 in contributions and donations made to his campaign committees to pay himself and make personal purchases, and that he concealed his fraud from donors, the public, the Illinois State Board of Elections and law enforcement authorities.
Following the plea hearing, McCann requested that he be released to home confinement pending sentencing and the Court scheduled a detention hearing for today, February 16, 2024. During the detention hearing the government presented a video that McCann recorded just prior to his detainment on Friday, February 9, 2024, in which McCann referenced the government’s conspiracy against him, among other accusations. Judge Lawless noted that the video raised her concern regarding McCann’s harming himself and his truthfulness with the Court, and ordered McCann detained pending sentencing.
Following the detention hearing, United States Attorney Gregory K. Harris stated, “We want to extend our sincere thanks to the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in the thorough investigation and prosecution of this case.”
A sentencing hearing for McCann is scheduled for June 20, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. The statutory penalty for each count of wire fraud (seven counts) and one count of money laundering is up to 20 years in prison. For tax evasion, the statutory penalty is up to 5 years in prison.
William Samuel McCann, Jr., 54, of Plainview, Ill., served as a state senator for the 49th District of Illinois from 2011 to 2013, and for the redrawn 50th District from 2013 to January 2019. McCann formed the Conservative Party of Illinois and, in 2018, launched an unsuccessful bid for Illinois Governor. McCann previously lived in Carlinville, Ill., and owned and operated two construction related businesses.
McCann organized multiple political committees that were registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections: Sam McCann for Senate; Sam McCann for Senate Committee; McCann for Illinois; and Conservative Party of Illinois. According to the indictment, from April 2011 to November 2018, McCann and his political committees received more than $5 million in campaign donations.
During his plea hearing, McCann admitted that he used campaign funds to purchase personal vehicles, pay personal debts, make mortgage payments, and pay himself, including the following:
- McCann used more than $60,000 in campaign funds to partially fund the purchases of a 2017 Ford Expedition in April 2017 and a 2018 Ford F-250 truck in July 2018, which he titled in his own name and used for his personal travel. McCann then used campaign funds for loan payments on the F-250 and for fuel and insurance expenses for both vehicles, while at the same time using campaign funds to reimburse mileage expense claims which he did not incur.
- In April 2018, McCann used $18,000 in campaign funds to purchase a 2018 recreational travel trailer, and in May 2018, used $25,000 in campaign funds to buy a 2006 recreational motor home, both of which McCann titled in his personal name.
McCann established an online account with a recreational vehicle rental business in Ohio and listed the vehicles for rent identifying Sam McCann as the owner. McCann then established a second account with the same rental business and identified himself as William McCann, a potential renter, with a different residential address and email than those he listed as the owner. From approximately May 2018 to June 2018, McCann, while representing himself as the renter, William, rented both the travel trailer and motor home from Sam, the owner, through the RV rental business. McCann caused a total of approximately $62,666 in campaign funds be used to pay the rental cost of the vehicles. The rental business retained approximately $9,838 for commission and paid McCann, as the owner, approximately $52,827 by direct deposit to McCann’s personal checking account. McCann reimbursed the campaign accounts $18,000, resulting in more than $77,000 in campaign funds used to buy and rent from himself.
- On or about Oct. 4, 2016, McCann used a $20,000 cashier’s check funded by a campaign account and issued to himself to pay off a personal loan, including legal fees, that had originally been issued to him as an equipment loan in 2011 and was in collection by the bank due to non-payment.
- From May 2015 to August 2020, McCann used campaign funds to pay approximately $64,750 on two separate personal mortgage loans that were secured by his former residence in Carlinville and an adjoining property used as an office for his construction business.
- In November 2018, after an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Illinois, when he was no longer a candidate for office and did not financially support any other candidate, and continuing to June 2020, McCann caused the Conservative Party of Illinois to issue approximately $187,000 in payments to himself personally and an additional $52,282 in payments for payroll taxes. Using a payroll service, McCann was able to conceal himself as the payee for the expenditures from the campaign account.
- McCann also admitted that approximately $50,000 in campaign funds were used for personal expenses including Green Dot credit card payments related to a family vacation in Colorado and other personal expenses, charges from Apple iTunes, Amazon, a skeet and trap club, Cabela’s, Scheels, Best Buy, a gun store, and cash withdrawals.
- In relation to his joint return for calendar year 2018. McCann failed to report income from his 2018 rental payments to himself for the RV trailer and motor home. In addition, in March 2018, McCann used a $10,000 check issued by a campaign account to make a down payment to a Shipman, Ill., business for a motor home. When the purchase was not completed, the business issued a $10,000 refund check payable to William McCann, which he deposited to his personal checking account and failed to report as income received.
The charges are the result of investigation by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy A. Bass is representing the government in the prosecution.
Former Fort Hood Texas Soldier Guilty Sentenced to 10 Years for Multiple Child Exploitation CountsRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A former Fort Hood, Texas soldier was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor on multiple counts of child exploitation.
U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker sentenced Christopher Meza, 23, to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Meza was also ordered to pay $16,650 in restitution. Meza had been found guilty on November 1, 2023, of one count of enticement of a child, two counts of travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and two counts of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. The verdict came after a two-day federal jury trial.
While sentencing Meza, Judge Walker stated, “It’s hard to put one’s mind to just how deeply disturbing the conduct was,” further describing the conduct as “debased, deviant, depraved, and craven.”
According to evidence presented during the trial, between February and December 2021, Meza interacted with a 13-year-old from Maine on a popular online gaming platform. The conversations included descriptions of sex as well as Meza’s acknowledgement of the victim’s age. Meza twice traveled from Texas to Maine to meet with the then 14-year-old victim, and on both occasions was successful in leaving the state with the child.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was the lead law enforcement agency. Additional investigative resources were provided by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division and multiple police departments in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Texas.
Reports of child sexual exploitation are increasing: In 2022, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received approximately 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. That included more than 80,500 reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts and more than 31 million reports of child sexual abuse materials. Victimization can take place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. To make a CyberTipline Report, visit https://report.cybertip.org/. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741.
Project Safe Childhood: 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 Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Former Delaware Specialty Pharmacy Chief Marketing Officer Agrees to Six-Year Exclusion from Federal Healthcare Programs for Allegations of Kickback and False Claims Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced today that Carla Sparkler, former Chief Marketing Officer of BioTek reMEDys Inc. (BioTek), located in New Castle, Delaware, has agreed to resolve allegations that she violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to patients and physicians and waiving co-pays to protect BioTek’s revenue stream. Sparkler agreed to a six-year federal healthcare exclusion, which will prohibit her from participating in any federally funded health care program, such as Medicare.
When a Medicare beneficiary obtains a prescription drug covered by Medicare, the beneficiary may be required to make a partial payment, which may take the form of a copayment, coinsurance or a deductible (“copays”). Congress included copay requirements in the Medicare program in part to serve as a check on health care costs. The Federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the offering, paying, soliciting or accepting, directly or indirectly, of any remuneration – which includes money or any other thing of value – to refer or arrange for the referral of items or services payable by any federal health care program. This prohibition extends to companies that routinely waive the copays of Medicare patients without determination of financial need. The Anti-Kickback Statute also extends to the payment of remuneration to physicians in exchange for patient referrals.
In its Complaint in Intervention, the United States alleged that, from at least August 2015 through May 2020, Sparkler served as the Chief Marketing Officer of Biotek. BioTek, a specialty pharmacy that offers drugs and infusion services, routinely waived the copayments of Medicare and TRICARE patients to induce those patients to purchase its drugs and services. Many of the specialty drugs offered by BioTek were expensive and required patients to pay large copays. The government alleged that BioTek sought to avoid deterring patients from purchasing its drugs and services by engaging in a scheme, orchestrated, and implemented by Sparkler, to routinely waive these large copays, without regard for whether the patients were experiencing financial hardship.
Today’s settlement also resolves allegations that under Sparkler’s leadership, BioTek provided remuneration in the form of gifts, dinners, and free administrative and clinical support services to physicians – in particular Dr. David Tabby, who operated a neurology practice in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania – to induce those physicians to refer patients to BioTek. The government also alleged that Dr. Tabby knowingly solicited and accepted this remuneration in exchange for referring numerous patients to BioTek. Dr. Tabby has separately paid $480,000 to settle these allegations, based on his ability to pay. Biotek and its chief executive officer, Chaitanya Gadde, previously agreed collectively to pay $20 million based on their ability to pay to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to patients and physicians to protect Biotek’s revenue stream.
“Ms. Sparkler allegedly orchestrated a scheme to provide improper physician inducements and to cover up kickbacks for patient referrals by waiving co-pays,” said Romero, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA). “The six-year exclusion from participation in federal health care programs reflects my office’s commitment to holding individuals accountable for improper and corrupt business practices. BioTek’s alleged scheme, orchestrated and implemented by Sparkler to routinely waive these copays – without regard for whether the patients were experiencing financial hardship – ensured a steady revenue stream for BioTek and undermined patient care to citizens of this District. EDPA will continue to invest itself in the pursuit of health care providers, including individuals, who violate the law for personal gain.”
“This settlement resolves allegations that Ms. Sparkler orchestrated Biotek’s scheme to provide kickbacks, including the improper waiver of co-pays, to encourage doctors to use its services,” said U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss for the District of Delaware. “Those who, for personal gain, flout the rules established by federal healthcare programs raise the costs for everyone and do a disservice to their patients. They forfeit their right to participate in those programs.”
“Kickbacks impose hidden costs on the health care system and compromise medical decision-making,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Alongside our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG is committed to safeguarding the integrity of federal health care programs by, in part, holding individuals who unlawfully bill the programs accountable for their actions.”
“The settlement agreement announced today demonstrates our ongoing commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate healthcare fraud and protect TRICARE, the healthcare system for military members and their dependents,” stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General. “When health care companies pay physicians and submit false claims for improper referrals, they undermine the integrity of TRICARE and place an unnecessary financial burden on the program.”
The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by former BioTek employees Shantae M. Wyatt and Latoya Sparrow. Under those provisions, a private party, known as a relator, may file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. The qui tam case is captioned United States of America ex rel. Wyatt et al. v. BioTek reMEDys, Inc., No. 19-6069 (EDPA). The relators in this case were represented by David A. Bocian and Asher S. Alavi of Kessler, Topaz, Meltzer & Check in Radnor, PA.
The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, and Fraud Section, the HHS-OIG, the Office of Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
This case illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800‑HHS‑TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matter was handled by U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charlene Keller Fullmer and Judith Amorosa, and Auditor George Niedzwicki for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dylan Steinberg for the District of Delaware.
The claims asserted by the United States are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Former Commodities Trader Charged with Multimillion-Dollar Wire and Commodoties Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Chicago man was charged today in a fraud scheme that defrauding victims of over $3.7 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Phillip Galles, 57, is charged by indictment with one count each of wire fraud and commodities fraud.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger“As alleged, Phillip Galles defrauded multiple victims by falsely posing as a successful hedge fund manager who would invest their money in commodity futures through his Chicago-based investment company Tyche Asset Management,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. “In reality, Galles made virtually no real investments, spent time working as a dog walker and not a fund manager, and misappropriated over $3.7 million in victims’ money. We will continue to work relentlessly to pursue those who prey on investors through lies and deception.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Galles, a former commodities trader, defrauded his victims by falsely claiming that he would invest their money in commodity futures through his purported investment company called Tyche Asset Management, based in Chicago. As part of the scheme, Galles and those working for him falsely told prospective investors that Tyche had a history of success using proprietary trading strategies, with extraordinary annual rates of return exceeding 100 percent. In reality, Tyche made virtually no legitimate investments in commodity futures or otherwise. Galles instead ran Tyche like a Ponzi scheme and used investor money to pay back other investors and for his own personal expenses.
Galles met with an undercover agent in New Jersey purporting to be an investment manager looking to make a large investment. Galles repeatedly lied during those meetings about Tyche and his own personal history. He falsely claimed that Tyche had annual returns of 336 percent, raised over $2 billion within 60 days of starting the fund, and had prominent investors, including a Kuwaiti sovereign fund and a well-known owner of a professional sports team. Galles also falsely claimed that he graduated from a prominent university in the Midwest. In total, Galles defrauded more than a dozen victims of more than $3.7 million.
The counts with which Galles is charged are each punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss involved in the offense, whichever is greatest.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney in Newark, and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Postal Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen, Philadelphia Division, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also expressed appreciation to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the National Futures Association.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Silane of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
galles.indictment.pdfFederal Jury Convicts Man in Armed Robbery of Westminster Gas StationRead the Press Release
DENVER - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that a federal jury in Denver has convicted Dimas Alexander Munguia-Herrera for armed robbery of a Conoco gas station and for discharging a firearm during and in relation to that armed robbery, which is a crime of violence under federal law.
According to court documents and facts presented at trial, Minguia-Herrera committed the robbery of cash and other items just before he discharged a firearm at a Conoco gas station in Westminster, Colorado, on January 12, 2023. Surveillance footage at trial showed a masked Munguia-Herrera pointing the gun before he discharged it into the wall barely missing the cashier. He left the Conoco gas station in a stolen white Bronco, which was later found with evidence inside that traced back to the Defendant.
“Our office is committed to making Denver a safer place to live,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “This prosecution is another step in the right direction.”
“The FBI continues to work with agencies like Westminster Police to target the violent criminals terrorizing communities across Colorado,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “We will continue to leverage our resources and partnerships to get the bad actors off the streets.”
United States Chief District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer presided over the federal jury trial. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The Westminster Police Department, the Denver Police Department, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Albert Buchman and Alison Connaughty handled the prosecution.
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.
Case No. 23-cr-105-PAB
Federal Jury Convicts Las Cruces Man of Federal Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that on Feb. 13, 2024, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict against Jesus Coronado, 42, of Las Cruces. The jury convicted Coronado of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Judge Margaret I. Strickland presided.
A federal grand jury returned a superseding indicted against Coronado on June 21, 2023. According to publicly available court documents, on Dec. 11, 2021, a woman was leaving a smoke shop when her former boyfriend, Coronado, pulled up next to her vehicle and brandished a firearm while making a jabbing gesture with it in her direction. Both vehicles then fled the parking lot.
Officers from the Las Cruces Police Department (LCPD) obtained an arrest warrant for Coronado and located his vehicle at a residence in Las Cruces, but the residents told officers Coronado was not there. Officers conducted sporadic surveillance of the residence for the next several days until they observed a male matching Coronado’s description in the driveway on Dec. 13, 2021. The officer commanded the male to stop, but he appeared to flee into the residence instead. Officers set up a perimeter around the residence and called for the residents to exit. Two women and another male obeyed the commands and the male told officers that Coronado had not entered the residence but had actually gone around the back. An officer holding the perimeter in the neighbor’s backyard climbed onto the fence separating the properties and observed a firearm on the roof of the residence. Sometime later, a neighbor called LCPD to report that a male matching Coronado’s description was hiding behind a wall across the street. At that time, officers located Coronado hiding behind a small cinderblock wall on a nearby property and arrested him. Subsequent DNA testing on the firearm matched Coronado’s DNA. As a previously convicted felon, Coronado knew that he could not possess a firearm and ammunition.
Coronado will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been set. At sentencing, Coronado faces 10 years in prison.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher McNair and Richard Williams are prosecuting the case.
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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Paducah Man for Methamphetamine DistributionRead the Press Release
Paducah, KY – A federal grand jury in Paducah, Kentucky, returned an indictment on February 12, 2024, charging a Paducah man with distributing methamphetamine.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis of the DEA St. Louis Field Division, Director Brendan F. Kelly of the Illinois State Police, and Chief Brian Laird of the Paducah Police Department made the announcement.
According to the indictment, Cameron D. Shumpert, 31, was charged with distributing methamphetamine in McCracken County, Kentucky on December 11, 2023, December 14, 2023, January 4, 2024, and January 18, 2024.
On February 15, 2024, Shumpert made an initial court appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Shumpert faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The defendant remains in federal custody pending further hearings. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is being investigated by the DEA Carbondale, Illinois Post of Duty Office, the Illinois State Police, and the Paducah Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Hancock, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, is prosecuting this case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Daviess County Felon for Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Bowling Green, KY – A federal grand jury in Bowling Green returned an indictment on February 14, 2024, charging a Daviess County felon with false statements made in acquisition of a firearm, receipt of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the ATF Louisville Field Division made the announcement.
According to the indictment, on January 3, 2024, Ronald Joseph Philpot, 53, made false written statements intended to deceive a licensed firearms dealer, on a Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives form 4473, Firearms Transaction Record. Specifically, Philpot stated he was not under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and was not a convicted felon, when in fact as he knew he was a convicted felon currently under indictment for another felony offense.
On January 9, 2024, Philpot then received, and was in possession of, a Taurus 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol. Philpot was prohibited from possessing a firearm because he had previously been convicted of the following felony offenses.
On May 1, 2018, in Ohio Circuit Court, Philpot was convicted of possession of a controlled substance, first offense, (methamphetamine).
On April 28, 2015, in Ohio Circuit Court, Philpot was convicted of flagrant nonsupport.
On April 14, 2008, in Ohio Circuit Court, Philpot was convicted flagrant nonsupport.
On May 16, 1990, in Ohio Circuit Court, Philpot was convicted of burglary in the third degree.
Philpot was previously arrested on a criminal complaint and will make his initial court appearance on the indictment before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky later. He remains in federal custody pending trial. If convicted, Philpot faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
There is no parole in the federal system.
The case is being investigated by the ATF Bowling Green Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Nicholas Rabold, of the U.S. Attorney’s Bowling Green Branch Office, 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.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Fake concert promoter and former rapper plead guilty to $1.35 million fraud scheme involving bogus music concertsRead the Press Release
MIAMI – Two men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft for their involvement in a bogus music concert fraud scheme.
Terronce Morris, 41, of Missouri City, Texas, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13 to conspiring with Blake Kelly, 36, of Los Angeles, California, in a fraud scheme involving bogus music concerts with famous artists, including J.B., B.E., and P.M. Kelly had previously pleaded guilty to the same conspiracy, on Jan. 9. Morris and Kelly also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for forging the signature and using the identity of music artist J.B. on false and fraudulent concert contracts.
According to the factual proffer and other court documents, between December 2019 and March 2020, Morris and Kelly fraudulently obtained approximately $1,350,000 from victim J.R. Morris and Kelly persuaded the victim to give them the money for the purportedly production of a music festival, featuring J.B., P.M., B.E., and other music recording artists. Morris and Kelly created several false and fraudulent concert performance contracts forging the signatures of the music recording artists. Morris also created false and fraudulent email accounts that he used to pose as if the music recording artists themselves had sent the signed contracts to Kelly and himself. Additionally, during a video call with the victim, Morris and Kelly had an accomplice pose as J.B. to trick the victim into believing that J.B. had agreed to perform at the concert series.
Relying on Morris’s and Kelly’s false and fraudulent statements, the victim sent three wire transfers to Morris. The victim also mailed Morris a $200,000 check made payable to J.B., that Morris then deposited into his own personal account. Morris and Kelly used the fraudulently obtained money to enrich themselves and finance a lavish lifestyle for themselves and their accomplices, which included traveling, purchasing luxury goods, paying for luxurious services, and dining at high-priced restaurants.
Morris’s sentencing is scheduled for May 2, at 1:30 p.m. Kelly’s sentencing is scheduled for March 28, 1:00 p.m. Morris and Kelly face up to 20 years in prison for the conspiracy charge, as well an additional two years in prison for the identity theft charge.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of FBI, Miami Field Office made the announcement.
FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Roger Cruz and Joan Silverstein are prosecuting it.
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 23-cr-60118.
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FACT SHEET: Disruptive Technology Strike Force Efforts in First Year to Prevent Sensitive Technology from Being Acquired by Authoritarian Regimes and Hostile Nation-StatesRead the Press Release
One year ago, on February 16, 2023, the Departments of Justice and Commerce, alongside their partners at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, launched the Disruptive Technology Strike Force to fiercely protect advanced technology from being unlawfully acquired by foreign adversaries. Together, the agencies that comprise the Strike Force have taken an all-tools approach to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against illegal procurement networks and prevent nation-state actors from illicitly acquiring our most sensitive technology.
In the twelve months since its formation, the Strike Force has successfully:
Charged 14 cases involving alleged sanctions and export control violations, smuggling conspiracies, and other offenses related to the unlawful transfer of sensitive information, goods, and military-grade technology to Russia, China, or Iran.
- Seven cases charged defendants with sending or attempting to send semiconductors, microelectronics, or other technologies to Russia in violation of U.S. law.
- In January 2024, Brooklyn- and Los Angeles-based businessman Ilya Kahn was arrested for allegedly running a years-long scheme to unlawfully export hundreds of thousands of semiconductors to a sanctioned Russian business, using networks of businesses in the China and other transshipment points to evade export controls.
- In October 2023, Brooklyn-based Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, a dual Russian and Tajik national, and Canadian nationals Nikolay Goltsev and Kristina Puzyreva were arrested for running a scheme to source, purchase, and ship millions of dollars’ worth of dual-use electronics from U.S. manufacturers to sanctioned end-users in Russia, including components used in guided missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
- In October 2023, Brooklyn resident Nikolay Grigorev was arrested and Russian nationals Nikita Arkhipov and Artem Oloviannikov were charged with running a scheme to procure dual-use electronic components, including semiconductors, for companies affiliated with the Russian military.
- In September 2023, Russian citizen Maxim Marchenko was charged with using shell companies in Hong Kong to smuggle large quantities of microelectronics with military applications to end users in Russia.
- In August 2023, dual Russian-German citizen Arthur Petrov was arrested in Cyprus for his involvement in a scheme to procure U.S.-sourced microelectronics on behalf of a Russia-based supplier of critical electronic components for manufacturers supplying weaponry and other equipment to the Russian military.
- In May 2023, Greek national Nikolaos Bogonikolos was arrested for overseeing a years-long operation to smuggle into Russia U.S.-origin military and dual-use technology, including sensitive components used in quantum cryptography and nuclear weapons testing.
- In May 2023, Russian nationals Oleg Sergeyevich Patsulya and Vasilii Sergeyevich were arrested for conspiring to violate export control laws and commit money laundering to obtain airplane technology for Russian airlines.
These cases were brought in partnership with Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement effort dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department, and five U.S. Attorneys from offices around the country, and officials from HSI and FBI announced the Strike Force’s first five cases in May 2023.-
Three cases charged former employees of U.S. companies with stealing confidential and proprietary information related to sensitive technology and attempting to take such information to China, and one case charged a defendant with seeking to obtain technology from U.S. manufacturers on behalf of Chinese end users.
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In February 2024, California resident Chenguang Gong was arrested for transferring more than 3,600 files containing proprietary information from his employer, including files with blueprints for sophisticated missile-detection technology. According to the complaint, Gong sought funding from the People’s Republic of China (PRC)-administered “Talent Programs,” which recruit individuals overseas with expertise sought after by the PRC, to develop similar technology.
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In May 2023, Liming Li of California was arrested for his alleged theft of sensitive technology related to advanced manufacturing software programs from his Southern-California-based employers and using that information to market his own competing company to businesses in China.
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In May 2023, California man and former Apple employee Weibao Wang was charged in connection with a scheme to steal Apple source code and other proprietary information related to autonomous systems. Allegedly, he left Apple to work as an engineer for a U.S.-based subsidiary of a China-based company to work on the development of self-driving cars, and, following a search of his residence, Wang left the country for China.
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In December 2023, Belgian national Hans Maria De Geetere was charged and arrested in Belgium for crimes related to a years-long scheme to export accelerometers used in aerospace and military systems from the United States to end users in China.
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Three cases charged individuals with seeking to procure sensitive U.S. technology on behalf of the government of Iran or Iranian end users.
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In February 2024, Iranian national Abolfazi Bazzazi and his son Mohammad Resa Bazzazi were charged with violating U.S. sanctions by procuring for the Government of Iran and other Iranian ends users goods and technology from U.S. companies that supply the military, aerospace, and firefighting industries.
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In January 2023, four Chinese nationals, Baoxia Liu, You Wa Yung, Yongxin Li, and Yanlai Zhong, were charged with smuggling U.S.-origin items used in the production of UAVs and ballistic missile systems through Chinese front companies to Iranian entities with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense.
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In May 2023, Chinese national Xiangjiang Qiao was charged with multiple offenses related to a scheme to use a sanctioned Chinese company to provide high-tech materials used in the production of weapons of mass destruction to Iran, in exchange for payments made through the U.S. financial system.
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Secured the guilty plea of a defendant charged for her role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to send electronic components used in UAVs and guided missile systems and other weapons to sanctioned entities in Russia.
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In February 2024, Canadian national Kristina Puzyreva, one of three defendants charged in the case, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy as part of a sophisticated sanctions and export control scheme involving two Brooklyn-based companies.
Issued Temporary Denial Orders against 29 entities, including airlines, freight forwarders, defense companies, and others to cut off their access to controlled U.S. items.
Contributed to numerous parties being placed on Commerce’s Entity List and Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.
Forged international partnerships committed to preventing critical technology from being siphoned off by foreign adversaries.
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Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod traveled to Kyiv in November 2023, following prior visits by the Attorney General to Ukraine, to reaffirm the Strike Force’s close partnership with the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and commitment to curbing the illegal flow of advanced technology to Russia.
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Following the Camp David Leaders’ Summit with President Biden and the leaders of Japan and Korea, DOJ and Commerce took steps to establish a Disruptive Technology Protection Network with South Korea and Japan to expand collaboration on technology protection measures, including expanding information-sharing and the exchange of best practices across the three countries’ enforcement agencies.
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As part of the Munich Security Conference, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen and Assistant Secretary Matthew Axelrod participated in a panel discussion on safeguarding disruptive technology in a new era of economic statecraft.
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During a speech in the United Kingdom, where she announced the creation of the Strike Force in February 2023, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco delivered remarks about the national security risks posed by artificial intelligence and why it is a top enforcement priority for the Strike Force.
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Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen delivered remarks and participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the American Academy at the U.S. embassy in Berlin, Germany. Throughout the visit, AAG Olsen reaffirmed the Department’s close partnership with foreign counterparts to stop the flow of sensitive technology to foreign adversaries.
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Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod delivered remarks on international partnerships, with a focus on the Strike Force, at the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control-Bureau of Industry and Security Export Control Forum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen and Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department tour the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, which houses drones, electronic components, and other devices used by Russia and found on the battlefields in Ukraine. The two traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine from Oct. 30 – Nov. 1, 2023, to meet with counterparts about stopping the flow of sensitive technology to Russia.Fostered partnerships with the private sector, working directly with companies involved in the manufacture, sale, and shipment of sensitive export-controlled items.
- Hosted industry outreach events in Boston, Massachusetts; Houston, Texas; and Phoenix, Arizona to educate industry on the Strike Force’s work to stem the flow of sensitive technology to our adversaries, recent corporate enforcement initiatives, and tips and best practices for working with investigators on issues related to export compliance, cybersecurity, and protecting intellectual property.
- Convened roundtable discussions with compliance officials and technical experts at multiple cutting-edge tech companies, research institutions, and defense contractors.
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Toured the largest and third-largest commercial ports in the United States
Added new interagency partners to the effort and enforcement teams to the Strike Force.
- To strengthen efforts to protect defense industry technology, the Strike Force added the Defense Criminal Investigative Service as a formal Strike Force partner.
- To strategically align Strike Force presence with the location of critical technology-related industries throughout the United States, the Strike Force added enforcement teams in the Eastern District of North Carolina, the Western District of Texas, and the Southern District of Georgia.
Doctor Convicted of $2.8M Medicare Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal jury convicted a California man yesterday for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by billing $2.8 million for hospice services that patients did not need.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. John Thropay, 74, of Arcadia, was the medical director of several hospice companies, including Blue Sky Hospice Inc. located in Van Nuys, California. From October 2014 to March 2016, Thropay fraudulently certified Medicare patients of Blue Sky as having terminal illnesses that the patients did not have so that Blue Sky Hospice could bill Medicare for hospice services. In 2015, Thropay was listed as attending provider for more hospice claims paid by Medicare than any other provider in the nation.
The jury convicted Thropay of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and four counts of health care fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 28 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Timothy B. DeFrancesca of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and Acting Assistant Director in Charge Amir Ehsaei of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.
HHS-OIG and the FBI investigated the case.
Assistant Deputy Chief Niall M. O’Donnell and Trial Attorney Eric C. Schmale of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section 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, the 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.
District Men Sentenced for April 2021 Murder in Southeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Andre Smith, 27, and Malachi McFarland, 24, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 18 years and 14 years of incarceration, respectively, for the April 2021 shooting death of Kerry Odoms, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They were sentenced by the Honorable Robert Okun of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to second degree murder while armed on October 30, 2023.
According to the government’s evidence, just prior to the homicide, Kerry Odoms, 29, of Washington, D.C., was socializing on Apr. 15, 2021 with a group of people that included McFarland, in the parking lot of 3319 10th Place SE, in the Congress Heights neighborhood.
Smith approached the group and moments later, at 9:54 p.m., lunged toward Odoms while firing multiple gunshots. As Smith began shooting at Odoms, McFarland ran a short distance away, returned, and fired a second round of gunshots directly at Odoms. The gunfire from both defendants killed Odoms, who suffered eight gunshot wounds.
- In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrea Antonelli, Jin Park, and former AUSA Steven Rickard, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
District Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Shooting a Man in Northeast WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ryan Parker, 24, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced today to 12 years of incarceration for the March 2023 shooting of a man outside of Malcolm’s Liquors on Minnesota Avenue NE, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
On August 8, 2023, Parker pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of aggravated assault while armed and carrying a pistol without a license. The Honorable Erik Christian sentenced the defendant to 10 years for the aggravated assault charge and two years for the carrying a pistol without a license charge, with those sentences to run consecutively to each other.
According to the government’s evidence, with which Parker agreed, on March 6, 2023, Parker fired 14 gunshots at the victim, and hit him twice while the two were standing outside of Malcolm’s Liquors on Minnesota Avenue. At the plea hearing, Parker admitted that the underlying argument was over the victim’s refusal to give him a cigarette. As a result of the shooting, the victim sustained injuries to his hand and leg.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department officers who investigated the case. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams. Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Alec Levy, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.
District Man Indicted on Enhanced Second-Degree Theft for Theft from Ross Retail Store in NortheastRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, February 14, 2024, Terri Ross (aka Terri Rosser), 38, of Washington, D.C., was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on one count of felony second-degree theft stemming from events occurring on December 31, 2023, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced.
Ross is to be arraigned on February 26, 2024, at a hearing before a Superior Court judge.
According to the government’s evidence, on December 31, 2023, Ross took clothing items without paying from the Ross Dress for Less store in Northeast, Washington, D.C. Ross was later located and arrested after investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department.
Ross has two or more prior theft convictions, though not from the same occasion, and therefore is subject to enhanced penalties for his alleged theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail for each count of theft for which he is indicted.
Since September 1, 2023, including the aforementioned case, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has indicted 24 cases involving a felony second-degree theft charge based on a defendant’s two or more prior theft convictions, not from the same occasion.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Gaskin.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
Detroit Man Sentenced for $650,000 Real Estate Loan FraudRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Detroit man was sentenced yesterday to six years in prison for fraudulently conspiring to obtain over $650,000 in advance fees from borrowers seeking real estate loans.
According to court documents, Roscoe Copeland, 49, was the founder and CEO of Alexis Realty Solutions LLC (ARS), which purported to be an alternative funding source for prospective borrowers seeking loans for real estate purchases. ARS catered to customers who had poor credit ratings or were otherwise unable to qualify for a loan from retail banks or other traditional funding sources. ARS offered unrealistically competitive interest rates to their customers, including as low as 1% for a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage.
Copeland and his co-defendant, Dawnn Long, ARS’s chief operating officer, claimed that ARS was a private lender with no “middleman,” and that the company had access to specialized bond funding at discounted rates. As part of the fraudulent scheme, prospective borrowers paid ARS an upfront fee, typically 3% of the loan amount, to purportedly secure a bond necessary to obtain the loan. Copeland and Long also recruited individuals known as “consultants,” many of whom were real estate brokers or agents, to find prospective borrowers and direct them to ARS. Consultants were told that ARS would pay them a percentage of ARS’s proceeds after the loans were funded.
During the conspiracy, which lasted from approximately January 2017 to January 2018, Copeland and Long knowingly made repeated false statements to both prospective borrowers and consultants. These misrepresentations included that: (1) the advance fees paid by customers would be held in escrow; (2) the customers’ advance fees would be repaid in full if their loans did not fund within a set period; and (3) ARS was a private lender with no middleman.
In fact, not a single customer of ARS received a loan. Twenty-six prospective borrowers sent Copeland and Long over $650,000 in advance fees, the vast majority of which Copeland and Long spent on lavish personal expenses. Many of the victims suffered substantial financial hardship, including filing for bankruptcy, periods of homelessness, or delaying retirement, as a result of Copeland’s fraud scheme.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and David J. Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Hood and Kenneth R. Simon, Jr. prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-152.
Denver Jury Convicts Former Corporate CFO and Wife of Wire FraudRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Michael Aaron Tew, 44, and Kimberly Ann Tew, 42, both of Denver, Colorado were found guilty for their roles in a wire fraud scheme that defrauded National Air Cargo, a logistics company and contractor for the Department of Defense. A federal jury in Denver returned guilty verdicts against the Tews on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
According to the facts established at trial, beginning in 2018, Michael Tew and Kimberly Tew conspired to defraud National Air Cargo through the submission of dozens of false invoices for services and items that were never provided. Over the course of two years, with the help of a co-conspirator, the Tews defrauded the business of five million dollars. Testimony at trial demonstrated the Tews gambled away much of the money and spent $2.4 million buying Bitcoin at Bitcoin ATMs across the Denver area. Michael Tew also failed to file federal income tax returns for tax years 2016 through 2019, on both his earned income and funds obtained from the fraud scheme.
“Financial crimes are serious, and this verdict shows there are consequences to such actions,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “We thank both IRS CI and the FBI for their exceptional work and partnership on this long-running investigation, which helps to ensure that fraudsters are held accountable for their actions.”
“IRS CI special agents are the federal law enforcement’s premier financial investigators, and we will continue to lead the way in investigating tax cases and financial crimes,” said Todd Martin, Special Agent in Charge, Denver Field Office. “This verdict is an example of the impressive work of our special agents and reinforces the fact that we work diligently to investigate tax crimes. We are proud to have assisted the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI in unraveling the Tew’s sophisticated scheme and holding them accountable for evading their taxes and stealing from National Air Cargo.
“FBI Denver’s Complex Financial Crimes squad will continue to work with our state, local and federal partners to investigate and seek justice for when criminals cheat, lie and steal for their own personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek.
United States District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico presided over the jury trial. Sentencing will be held at a later date.
IRS CI and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Bryan Fields and Sarah Weiss, and former AUSA Hetal Doshi handled the prosecution.
Case Number: 20-cr-305-DDD
Defendant Who Posed as a Lawyer Sentenced to 22 Years in Federal Prison for Fraud Related to a Debt Elimination SchemeRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Willie Lamont Hicks, a/k/a “Will Woodward” and “CW,” age 52, of Kansas City, Missouri, yesterday to 22 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for federal charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud related to a debt elimination and wealth management fraud scheme. Judge Chuang also ordered Hicks to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $1,649,897.33 and pay restitution of $3,281,109.38. A federal jury convicted Hicks and co-defendant Mary Ann Mendoza, a/k/a “Mary Ann Manuel,” “Trinity,” “M3,” and “Emily James,” age 51, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, of those charges on October 4, 2023.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge Edwin S. Bonano of the Southeastern Region - Federal Housing Finance Agency - Office of Inspector General; Special Agent in Charge Javan Wilson of the U.S. Department of the Treasury - Office of Inspector General; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; and Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department.
According to the evidence presented at the seven-day trial, from August 2011 to at least September 2017, Hicks and Mendoza, who represented themselves as partners and as husband and wife, held in-person trainings purporting to educate victim-debtors on how to discharge consumer debt, including mortgage debt, credit card debt, and automobile financing debt. Hicks and Mendoza also marketed wealth management services to victims, including purporting to set up a family office and to fund business opportunities.
As detailed in trial testimony, during the debt elimination classes, Hicks, who claimed to be an attorney, and Mendoza told victims that on the back of their social security cards and birth certificates, there was a number that unlocked access to a special bank account with funds owed to the victims by the U.S. government. The defendants also told the victim-debtors that they could create or use “trusts” to fulfill the wealth management or debt elimination services, or to obtain return on investment.
The evidence proved that Hicks, Mendoza, and their associates offered to facilitate the discharge of the debt held by the victims or perform other purported services for a fee, such as a percentage of the victim-debtors’ outstanding debt. The defendants accepted payment in the form of cash, wire transfers, personal and cashier’s checks, and the use of the victim-debtors’ credit. Victim-debtors also paid the defendants through the liquidation of their retirement savings, the leasing of apartments, and the purchase of vehicles and office equipment and supplies. In 2017, Hicks and Mendoza caused one victim to transfer almost $100,000 from the victim’s bank account to the accounts of fraudulent corporate entities controlled by the defendants. Trial testimony showed that victim-debtors were induced into providing the defendants with over one million dollars in cash and other forms of payment during the period of the conspiracy.
According to the evidence also presented at trial, Hicks and Mendoza used the victims’ personal identifying information without the victims’ knowledge or permission and provided the victims with fraudulent documents, including Internal Revenue Service forms, memorandums of agreement, intake forms, and other materials that the defendants claimed were necessary for discharging debt. The evidence showed that Hicks, Mendoza, and their associates mailed the fraudulent paperwork to the victim-debtors’ creditors, lenders, and the Internal Revenue Service purporting to effectuate the discharge of the victim’s debts.
As a result of Hicks’ and Mendoza’s scheme, victims suffered substantial financial harm, including foreclosure and eviction, homelessness, depletion of their retirement savings, significant downgrading of their credit scores, bankruptcy, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and penalties owed to the IRS as a result of the fraudulent paperwork mailings.
Mendoza faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Judge Chuang has scheduled sentencing for Mendoza on February 23, 2024, at 9:30 a.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Federal Housing Finance Agency - Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of the Treasury - Office of Inspector General, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked the United States Marshals, the Hinesville, Georgia Police Department, the Gwinnett County, Georgia Police Department, the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Offices of Western District of North Carolina, Northern District of Georgia, Eastern District of Texas, New Jersey, and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for their assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Coreen Mao, who is prosecuting the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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