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Wednesday 6 December 2023
Suburban Chicago Man Admits Trafficking Fentanyl and Attempting to Support ISISRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man admitted in federal court today that he trafficked fentanyl and other drugs and attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, also known as ISIS.
JASON BROWN, 41, of Lombard, Ill., pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to provide material support to ISIS, one count of distributing fentanyl, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The firearm charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of life. The drug charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 40 years, and the terrorism charge is punishable by a maximum of 20 years. Brown has been in law enforcement custody since his arrest in 2019. U.S. District Judge Mary M. Rowland set sentencing for May 28, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.
Brown admitted in a plea agreement that on three occasions in 2019 he provided $500 in cash to an individual with the understanding that the money would be wired to an ISIS soldier engaged in terrorist activity in Syria. Unbeknownst to Brown, the individual to whom he provided the money was confidentially working with law enforcement, and the purported ISIS fighter was actually an undercover law enforcement officer.
Brown further admitted that in 2019 he trafficked fentanyl from California to the Chicago suburbs and illegally possessed several loaded handguns in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities.
The plea agreement was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice; Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Substantial assistance was provided by the Illinois State Police, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, Lombard (Ill.) Police Department, Addison (Ill.) Police Department, and FBI Field Offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn McCarthy of the Northern District of Illinois and S. Elisa Poteat, Trial Attorney from the National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.
Brown plea agreementStamford Man Admits Theft of $800K from Trust AccountRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that CURTIS SOLSVIG, 69, of Stamford, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarala V. Nagala in Hartford to a fraud offense involving his misappropriation of funds from a trust.
According to court documents and statements made in court, a married couple (the “victims”) created a trust for the primary benefit of their two children. In 1996, Solsvig, a relative of the victims, began serving as trustee of the trust. Beginning in 2011 and continuing for approximately eight years, Solsvig stole more than $800,000 from the trust and used the funds for a variety of personal expenses. By the time his scheme concluded, less than $20 remained in the trust account.
Solsvig pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Nagala scheduled sentencing for March 5, 2024.
Solsvig is released on a $250,000 bond pending sentencing.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Conor M. Reardon.
St. Charles County Man Who Obtained Child Pornography with a Hidden Camera Sentenced to 17 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a man who captured images and videos of underage girls with hidden cameras to 17 years in prison.
Dennis J. Naumann, 56, of St. Charles County, Missouri, will be on supervised release for life after his release from prison.
Naumann produced videos and still images of underage girls by concealing video cameras in a bathroom and other places. Naumann admitted uploading at least 50 videos containing child sexual abuse material to Dropbox. He also traded the images and videos he produced with two others so he could get more child sexual abuse material.
One victim wrote in a letter to Judge Schelp that Naumann “stole my girlhood and traded it on the internet.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that Naumann began deleting files when he learned he was being investigated, but dozens of videos and pictures were recovered, as were multiple online conversations in which he asked for images or videos containing child sexual abuse material or offered to share what he had. Naumann also searched for that material online, part of what Anderson called a “rapacious appetite for child sexual abuse material.”
Naumann pleaded guilty in June to one count each of attempted production of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography.
The case was investigated by the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force, the St. Charles County Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jillian Anderson and Nathan Chapman prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division'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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Springfield Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Fentanyl Conspiracy, Illegal FirearmsRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of fentanyl and for illegally possessing firearms.
Jerry Wheeler, also known as “Love,” 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark on Nov. 21, 2023, to 35 years in federal prison without parole.
On Dec. 15, 2022, Wheeler pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and one count of possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.
Wheeler admitted that he participated in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in Christian and Greene counties from Sept. 23, 2018, to Nov. 14, 2019. Wheeler was a supplier of fentanyl to a number of other fentanyl distributors in Springfield. Wheeler also admitted that he was in possession of a Sig Sauer .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, an Izmash .308-caliber semi-automatic rifle, and a Hi-Point 9mm semi-automatic pistol in furtherance of the drug-trafficking conspiracy.
According to court documents, Wheeler was responsible for multi-kilogram fentanyl distribution. Often, the fentanyl was sold as heroin.
Law enforcement officers stopped co-defendant Sheron Loggins, also known as “Bane,” 50, of Florissant, Mo., while he was driving on Interstate 44 toward Springfield on Sept. 8, 2019. Loggins was transporting approximately 496 grams of fentanyl (which represents over 4,000 potentially lethal doses of fentanyl). Wheeler admitted that he was the intended recipient of that fentanyl and that he intended to distribute the fentanyl in Springfield.
On Nov. 14, 2019, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Wheeler’s residence. Officers found the loaded Sig Sauer pistol on top of a cabinet in the kitchen. Agents found the loaded Hi-Point pistol in a nightstand drawer in one bedroom and the Izhmash rifle underneath a mattress in another bedroom. Agents also found a small amount of cocaine and fentanyl, as well as drug paraphernalia.
According to court documents, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that Missouri was one of only nine states west of the Mississippi River with an age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths of more than 21.1 per 100,000 in 2020. The most recent statistics provided by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services show that, in 2022, 1,577 Missourians fatally overdosed on opioids. This means that one in every 45 deaths in Missouri in 2022 can be attributed to an opioid overdose, and potent non-heroin opioids such as fentanyl have increasingly taken over as the primary killer.
Court documents also cite a widely reported analysis of CDC data by Families Against Fentanyl that fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death among adults between ages 18 and 45 in the United States.
Wheeler is the second of 14 defendants to be sentenced in this case. Marquise D. Martin, 33, of Springfield, was sentenced on June 14, 2023, to 12 years in federal prison without parole. Loggins has pleaded guilty to participating in the drug-trafficking conspiracy and awaits sentencing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron H. Black. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Springfield, Missouri, Police Department; the Greene County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department; the Phelps County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Department; the Bourbon, Missouri, Police Department; and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. The OCDETF program is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s drug supply reduction strategy. OCDETF was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations. Today, OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations, and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
Southfield Man First to Plead Guilty to $28,000,000 Cell Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
DETROIT -- A Southfield man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in connection with an extensive, multi-million-dollar cell phone upgrade fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Ison was joined in the announcement by Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Delano Bush, 34, entered his guilty plea this afternoon, before United States District Judge Terrence G. Berg.
According to court records, beginning at least as early as June 2017 and continuing through at least September 2019, the defendant and others fraudulently obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of other people to purchase cellular devices on credit, by charging those devices to accounts opened in the names of ID-theft victims, without the victims’ authorization. In total, the scheme involved more than 26,000 fraudulent transactions and resulted in a loss of more than $28,000,000.
“Today’s guilty plea marks a significant event in a years-long investigation and prosecution. As this case shows, identity theft is constantly evolving, and fraudsters continue to find new ways to use and abuse their victims’ personal information,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “My office remains committing to unraveling sophisticated fraud schemes such as this one, and to bringing the perpetrators of these schemes to justice.”
“Cooperation between federal, state and local partners is essential to successfully investigating and prosecuting these complex fraud operations,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. “By putting a stop to these schemes, HSI special agents and our partners help protect the livelihoods of hard-working Americans both here in Michigan and across the country.”
Bush faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment on the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Bush’s plea agreement also requires him to pay restitution to AT&T in the minimum amount of $1,500,000. Sentencing is set for April 25, 2024.
The case was investigated by agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG), the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (DOL-OIG), the Detroit Metro Airport Police Department, the Taylor Police Department, and the Wayne State University Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Particka.
Southern Oregon Woman Sentenced for Using Deceased Husband's Identity to Obtain Federal Student Aid FundsRead the Press Release
MEDFORD, Ore.—A Southern Oregon woman was sentenced in federal court Monday for using her deceased husband’s identity to unlawfully obtain more than $36,000 in federal student aid.
Cynthia Pickering, 56, of Central Point, Oregon, was sentenced to 36 months’ probation and ordered to pay $36,341 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Education.
According to court documents, beginning in September 2017 and continuing through April 2019, Pickering devised a scheme to use her deceased husband’s personally identifiable information to submit multiple applications for federal student aid and enroll her former husband at three different colleges and universities in Oregon. These fraudulent applications caused the three colleges and universities—Eastern Oregon University, Rogue Community College, and Western Oregon University—to disperse $36,341 in federal student aid into Pickering’s personal checking account.
To conceal her scheme, Pickering attended online classes pretending to be her former husband so that her husband would remain eligible for the student aid. Pickering did what was necessary to pass first term courses at each institution and collect the funds.
On October 6, 2022, a federal grand jury in Medford returned a nine-count indictment charging Pickering with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and student loan fraud, and, on November 15, 2022, she was arrested at her residence in Central Point. On August 21, 2023, Pickering pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and three counts of student aid fraud.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General (ED-OIG). It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Southern Oregon Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison After Boobytrapped Home Injures Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
MEDFORD, Ore.—A former resident of Williams, Oregon, was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison today after he boobytrapped a southern Oregon home and injured a federal officer.
Gregory Lee Rodvelt, 72, was sentenced to 150 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
“Fueled by anger and bitterness, this defendant boobytrapped a property in southern Oregon with intent to seriously injure someone. Unfortunately, his trap worked, and he injured an FBI bomb technician,” said Nathan J. Lichvarcik, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eugene and Medford Branch Offices. “We are fortunate Greg Rodvelt’s actions did not kill a law enforcement officer or community member. Today’s sentence is a just punishment for a serious crime.”
“This individual went through great efforts to set intricate and deadly concealed traps to prevent FBI agents from doing their job. These were no joke,” said Kieran L. Ramsey, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Portland Field Office. “Mr. Rodvelt knew he was breaking the law and his reprehensible actions are what landed him this sentence. We are thankful that our agent and other law enforcement officers survived this vicious attempt and we are thankful for our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office for their diligent work in bringing justice to this case.”
“It is clear that his emplacing multiple layers of boobytraps were intended to hurt or kill a person or multiple people,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “We are thankful that the FBI bomb technician wasn’t more seriously injured and hope that this sentence sends a strong message to not only Mr. Rodvelt but anyone who would contemplate doing something like this.”
“I’m thankful this incident didn’t result in more critical or fatal injuries, said Sergeant Kevin DelGrande of Oregon State Police, “This case highlights the dangers explosive devices present to responding law enforcement officers.”
According to court documents, on September 7, 2018, bomb technicians from Oregon State Police (OSP) and the FBI went to a property in Williams formerly owned by Rodvelt that he had lost in lawsuit. After Rodvelt learned that a receiver had been appointed to sell the property, he proceeded to boobytrap it.
When the bomb technicians arrived at the property, they observed a minivan blocking the gate. The technicians found steel animal traps affixed to a gate post and under the hood of the minivan. They also located homemade spike strips, which the receiver had previously run over. As the technician neared the residence, they observed a hot tub that had been placed on its side and rigged in a manner that when a gate was opened it would activate a mechanical trigger causing the spa to roll toward the person who had opened the gate.
The technicians further observed that the windows of the residence had been barred from the inside and there were security doors at the front and rear of the residence. The front door also had what appeared to be bullet holes from shots fired inside. In the garage, they found a rat trap modified to accept a shotgun shell. Though the trap was unloaded, it was connected to the main garage door so it would be tripped when the door was opened.
The technicians and two other law enforcement officers gathered near the front of the residence and used an explosive charge to breach the front door. The group carefully entered the residence, looking for traps, and found a wheelchair in the center of the front entryway. When the wheelchair was bumped, it triggered a homemade shotgun device that discharged a .410 shotgun shell that struck the FBI bomb technician below the knee. The group administered first aid to the wounded technician and transported him to a local hospital.
On June 2, 2023, a federal jury in Medford found Rodvelt guilty of assaulting a federal officer and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from OSP and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). It was prosecuted by Judith R. Harper and Jeffrey S. Sweet, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Sixty Foreign Nationals Charged with International Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
Eight indictments were unsealed in the District of Columbia, Southern District of California, Central District of California, and Northern District of Illinois charging 60 Mexican and foreign nationals with international heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana trafficking.
The unsealing of the indictments comes at the same time that the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against 12 of the defendants linked to the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO).
“The eight indictments unsealed today charging 60 defendants are the latest installments in the Justice Department’s relentless pursuit of drug trafficking organizations that smuggle illicit narcotics into the United States,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Together with our partners — across the U.S. government and around the world — we will use every tool at our disposal and target every link in the supply chain to dismantle the organizations that flood our communities with deadly narcotics.”
“The indictments unsealed today, charging 60 defendants that threatened our communities, are indicative of the FBI’s everlasting commitment to serving justice and dismantling criminal activities and networks,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “We work alongside our federal, state, and local partners to work hand in hand to disrupt and ultimately triumph over the shadow of drug trafficking, ensuring a safer and more secure future for all.”
One defendant, Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, aka Salgado and Musico, 49, is indicted in the District of Columbia, Southern District of California, and Northern District of Illinois. As alleged in court documents, Gastelum Iribe coordinated deliveries of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin into the United States and deliveries of millions of dollars of cash narcotics proceeds from customers in the United States for the BLO.
District of Columbia
Three indictments were unsealed in the District of Columbia charging five Mexican nationals with international drug trafficking.
As alleged in the indictments, Jose Gil Caro Quintero, aka Pelo Chino and El Chino, 55, conspired to import large quantities of cocaine from Mexico into the United States from 1994 to January 2022. Francisco Abraham Flores Ortiz, aka Panchito, 46, and two now-deceased co-conspirators, allegedly conspired to import large quantities of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana from Mexico into the United States for distribution from January 2008 to January 2018. Gastelum Iribe allegedly conspired to import large quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine from Mexico into the United States for distribution from January 2009 to December 2015.
Caro Quintero, Flores Ortiz, and Gastelum Iribe are all charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for unlawful importation into the United States. Gastelum Iribe is also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. If convicted, Caro Quintero and Flores Ortiz face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Gastelum Iribe faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case, with assistance from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Diego Field Office for the investigation of Caro Quintero.
Trial Attorneys Kate Naseef and Samantha Thompson of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the cases, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Martin for the Southern District of California for the prosecution of Caro Quintero.
Southern District of California
Three indictments were unsealed in the Southern District of California charging 29 individuals with international drug trafficking offenses.
“These indictments have neutralized dozens of alleged maritime traffickers and prevented addictive, harmful, and increasingly often deadly drugs from reaching American shores and streets,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath for the Southern District of California. “Cases like this are critical for disrupting, disabling, and dismantling the sinister and deadly operations of foreign drug trafficking organizations in the United States.”
The first indictment returned in September 2019 charges Gastelum Iribe, Servando Lopez Lopez, 49, and another individual with allegedly conspiring to distribute cocaine knowing it would be imported into the United States and a maritime drug conspiracy. If convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The second indictment returned in April also charges Juan Pablo Bastidas Erenas, 43, Bogar Soto Rodriguez, aka Ricardo Colmenarez, 49, Juvenal Leon Rodriguez, 47, Mario German Beltran Araujo, 31, Ulises Franco Figueroa, 36, Oscar Aleman Meza, 61, and 17 others with conspiring to distribute cocaine knowing it would be imported into the United States and a maritime drug conspiracy. If convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
“The defendants charged in these cases threatened the safety and health of the American people by trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs into the United States and by using violence to further their criminal acts,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “DEA remains committed to our important work with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities and bring to justice criminal organizations like the Beltran Leyva Organization and others.”
The third indictment returned in April charges Josue De Jesus Estrada Gutierrez and two others with conspiring to import cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. If convicted, they each face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and maximum penalty of life in prison.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Coast Guard Investigative Service is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua C. Mellor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison B. Murray for the Southern District of California are prosecuting the cases.
Central District of California
An indictment was unsealed in the Central District of California charging Amberto Beltran, aka Amembertito, 34, for allegedly conspiring with 26 co-conspirators to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine, at least five kilograms of cocaine, and at least one kilogram of heroin.
“International drug traffickers profit off the suffering of others and, in the process, devastate families and undermine communities,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “Our office is committed to bringing to justice those who cause so much pain to our people.”
Beltran is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison on each count and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The DEA investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher C. Kendall and Skyler F. Cho for the Central District of California are prosecuting this case.
Northern District of Illinois
An indictment unsealed in the Northern District of Illinois charges Gastelum Iribe for allegedly conspiring with others to traffic distribution quantities of cocaine and heroin into Chicago in 2007 and 2008. As part of the conspiracy, Gastelum Iribe allegedly acted as a logistical coordinator for Arturo Beltran Leyva’s drug trafficking organization, coordinating deliveries of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin into the United States from Mexico.
“The charges announced today make clear that the Department of Justice remains focused on dismantling transnational criminal organizations,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual for the Northern District of Illinois. “We will continue to investigate and hold accountable members of drug cartels who seek to traffic narcotics in our communities.”
“This joint effort is emblematic of the federal government’s commitment to combatting the scourge of illegal narcotics in our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Justin Campbell of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS:CI) Chicago Field Office. “We understand that combatting drug trafficking requires a multifaceted approach and IRS:CI is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our law enforcement partners in this endeavor.”
If convicted, Gastelum Iribe faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. The indictment also seeks $885 million in forfeiture from Gastelum Iribe.
The DEA Chicago Field Division, IRS:CI Chicago Field Office, and Chicago Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erika Csicsila and Andrew Erskine for the Northern District of Illinois are prosecuting the case.
The cases in the District of Columbia, Southern District of California, Central District of California, and Northern District of Illinois are supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Silver Spring Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Charges Related to a Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby sentenced William Reyes Garcia, a/k/a “Will,” age 33, of Silver Spring, Maryland, yesterday to 15 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, as well as for being a felon in possession of ammunition.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Malik Aziz of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to Reyes Garcia’s plea agreement and other court documents, between September 2020 and January 2022, Reyes Garcia and his co-conspirators participated in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed at least five kilograms of cocaine. Based on chats, phone calls, and other intercepted communications and evidence, Reyes Garcia was a manager or supervisor of the DTO.
As detailed in the statement of facts, during the investigation four packages containing approximately 15.65 kilograms of cocaine were seized by law enforcement. The packages were shipped from Brownsville, Texas to an address associated with the DTO, Business 1 in Beltsville, Maryland. Reyes Garcia’s fingerprints were obtained from one of the lids on the cocaine containers in the packages. Law enforcement identified three additional packages, which investigators believe also contained narcotics, that were sent to Business 1 and to a co-conspirator’s residence. Tracking information obtained from the shipping company revealed that an IP address associated with Reyes Garcia tracked the seized packages containing cocaine as well as the additional packages. In October 2021, law enforcement seized an approximately two-kilogram package of cocaine that was sent to Reyes, Jr. Intercepted communications following the seizure allegedly showed that this package of cocaine was intended for distribution by the DTO.
Search warrants were executed at locations associated with Reyes Garcia’s residence on January 20, 2022, and law enforcement recovered: more than 139 grams of cocaine and more than 101 kilograms of marijuana; a privately manufactured 9mm semi-automatic handgun, commonly known as a “ghost gun”; a magazine loaded with 22 rounds of 9mm ammunition; 53 rounds of .40-caliber ammunition; 42 rounds of .45-caliber ammunition; 50 rounds of .380-caliber ammunition; firearms parts, including a frame, slide, barrel, barrel spring, and magazine; and drug paraphernalia, including digital scales with drug residue and a money counter.
Reyes knew that he had a previous felony conviction and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Co-defendants Fabricio Alexis Rivera, a/k/a “Breeze,” age 32, of Rockville, Maryland and Rodney Ricky Rivera, a/k/a “Rodney,” age 29, of Beltsville, Maryland previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Fernando Josue Garcia, a/k/a “Nando,” age 32, of Glenn Dale, Maryland and Noel Reyes, Jr., a/k/a “June,” age 30, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and were sentenced to 63 months and 72 months in federal prison, respectively. Charges remain pending against three other co-defendants.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, the DEA, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland State Police, the ATF, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy and their offices for their assistance in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel Crespo and Elizabeth Wright, who are 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 www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Sheldon Man Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Henry Araica-Gonzalez, age 22, from Sheldon, Iowa, plead guilty in federal court on December 5, 2023, to Distribution of Child Pornography.
At the plea hearing, Araica-Gonzalez admitted that he distributed and attempted to distribute child pornography, using a means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce. Araica-Gonzalez further admitted in a plea agreement that he engaged in a sexual relationship with a minor, that he knew the age of the minor at the time, and that he filmed several of the assaults on both his and the victim’s phones. Araica-Gonzalez also admitted the videos of exploitative material contained displays of sadistic and masochistic conduct.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Araica-Gonzalez was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Araica-Gonzalez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sergeant Bluff Police Department, and Sheldon Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-4031.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
San Francisco Resident Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Manufacturing and Dealing FirearmsRead the Press Release
SAN FRANCISCO – Craig Bolland was sentenced today to 72 months (six years) in prison after pleading guilty to manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license and several other firearms-related offenses, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Cicolani. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Vince Chhabria, United States District Judge.
Bolland, 40, of San Francisco, was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 2, 2023, on four charges: (i) manufacturing and dealing firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A); (ii) being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); (iii) possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(k); and (iv) possession of a machinegun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o). He pleaded guilty to all four charges on September 13, 2023.
In the plea agreement, Bolland admitted, among other things, that, despite not having a license to do so, he was in the business of manufacturing and selling firearms—including hard-to-trace “ghost guns” he manufactured himself using a 3-D printer and parts he had shipped to him—from at least June 2021 through May 30, 2023, the date of his arrest. Bolland admitted he sold at least five of these privately manufactured “ghost guns” (both pistols and rifles), as well as dozens of commercially manufactured firearms—some of which Bolland admitted he modified by installing “switches” that turned semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic weapons—to buyers he knew or had reason to know were criminals who were not legally allowed to possess firearms and who paid Bolland for the guns in cash, cryptocurrency, and/or narcotics.
According to the plea agreement, Bolland, who had previously been convicted of a felony, possessed five firearms on the date of his arrest, including four handguns and a fully automatic AR-15 style rifle with no serial number. He also possessed hundreds of rounds of ammunition of varying calibers. Finally, Bolland admitted in the plea agreement that, in addition to his own firearms dealing, he brokered multiple sales of firearms and ammunition between other sellers and buyers and that he received a commission for brokering such deals.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chhabria ordered Bolland to serve three years of supervised release to begin after his prison term is completed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney George O. Hageman is prosecuting the case with assistance from Amala James. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by ATF and the San Francisco Police Department.
Redondo Beach Woman Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Leading $24 Million Scam that Billed Medicare for Unneeded Wheelchair FixesRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A South Bay woman has been sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for billing Medicare more than $24 million by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment – mostly power wheelchairs (PWC) – and PWC repairs, many of which were never performed, the Justice Department announced today.
Tamara Yvonne Motley, 55, a.k.a. “Tamara Ogembe,” of Redondo Beach, was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., who also ordered her to pay $13,107,422 in restitution as well as an additional $2,300 in special assessments.
At the conclusion of a five-day trial, a jury on June 27 found Motley guilty of 20 counts of health care fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Judge Blumenfeld ordered her remanded into federal custody that same day after the verdict was read.
From July 2006 to August 2014, Motley was the de facto owner of the Hawthorne-based Action Medical Equipment and Supplies. From January 2013 to November 2016, Motley was the de facto owner of the Ventura-based Kaja Medical Equipment & Supply. Both companies were enrolled with Medicare in the names of Motley’s out-of-state relatives.
Motley orchestrated a scheme in which she paid marketers for patient referrals and then directed them to take patients to corrupt physicians, who prescribed medically unnecessary durable medical equipment, such as PWCs, that Motley’s companies used to submit fraudulent bills to Medicare.
In January 2011, when Medicare changed the reimbursement rules for PWCs to make the upfront payments less lucrative to suppliers, Action switched to billing Medicare for PWC repairs, and continued that scheme at Kaja once Action was shut down. These repairs were not medically necessary not only because the patients did not need the PWCs to begin with, but also because those repairs were not needed to make the PWCs serviceable in any event and often were never performed. These repairs were expensive – often billed for $3,000 to $4,000 each – and accounted for nearly half of Action’s billings and almost all of Kaja’s.
Over an eight-year period, Action billed Medicare more than $18.2 million for DME – most for PWCs, but also for PWC accessories, knee braces and back braces – and the repair or replacement of PWCs. Medicare paid Action nearly $10.3 million.
Between July 2013 and November 2016, Kaja billed Medicare $6.3 million, primarily for PWC repairs. Medicare paid Kaja approximately $2.8 million for those claims.
“[Motley] manipulated those around her to serve her criminal ends,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “She used relatives and employees to conceal her role in the scheme, and even used her infant’s caretaker to carry out the illegal activities of her scheme. She took advantage of vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries in far-flung places like Calexico who were elderly and often non-English speaking. She deceived inspectors to preserve her companies’ accreditation with Medicare.”
Two other defendants were convicted in this case:
- Cynthia Karina Marquez, 48, of Paramount, who worked as an office manager at both Action and Kaja, pleaded guilty in December 2019 to two counts of making false statements affecting a health care program. She received a time-served sentence, was placed on supervised release for three years, and was ordered to pay $9,886,646 in restitution.
- Juan Roberto Murillo, 47, of Montebello, who worked at both medical supply companies as a repair technician, pleaded guilty in November 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced to three years’ probation and was ordered to pay $2,504,119 in restitution.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; the FBI; and the California Department of Justice investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Kristen A. Williams of the Major Frauds Section and David H. Chao of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.
Prolific Whatcom and Skagit County drug dealer sentenced to 8 years in prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – The key source of drugs for a drug distribution ring operating in Skagit and Whatcom counties was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to eight years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Enoc Martinez Lopez, aka “Victor,” 28, of Marysville, Washington, was the main supplier of drugs to other co-conspirators and drug redistributors. He distributed fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine in areas that have seen an increase in overdose deaths. At Martine Lopez’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Lauren King said, “You chose to enrich yourself by perpetuating the cycle for others whose lives and families have been impacted by the drug epidemic."
“We know that fentanyl trafficking has led to increased fatal overdoses in the Lummi Nation and Whatcom County,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gorman. “Feeding addiction in our communities leads to increased deaths. Fentanyl pills have even resulted in the deaths of children who mistake a colorful pill for a piece of candy.”
Records in the case detail how various defendants interacted with supplier Martinez Lopez and other drug customers. In April 2022, investigators initially saw Martinez Lopez meeting a drug customer and co-defendant at the Silver Reef Casino in Whatcom County. That person was later arrested with more than 1,000 fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, and a firearm. Communication between Martinez Lopez and other coconspirators show he was supplying members of the ring with as many as 2,000 fentanyl pills at a time.
On November 30, 2022, when Martinez Lopez was arrested and his residence was searched, law enforcement seized, $177,710 in cash, 8.7 kilos of fentanyl pills, 2.3 kilos of fentanyl powder, more than 5 kilos of cocaine, a kilo of heroin, and more than 6 kilos of methamphetamine.
In asking for a ten-year sentence, Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs wrote to the court, “When arrested, Martinez Lopez was in possession of significant quantities of fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. The ability for Martinez Lopez to access the quantity of drugs found in his possession is particularly concerning and likely demonstrates the ability to connect with cartel-level narcotics sources-of-supply. This quantity of drugs represents a significant amount of misery and suffering.”
In all in this case, law enforcement has seized: 11.5 kilos of fentanyl pills, 2.8 kilos of fentanyl powder, 5.7 kilos of cocaine, 1.6 kilos of heroin, and 8.7 kilos of crystal meth, more than $186,000 in cash and nine firearms.
“This defendant profited from the misery of some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “This investigation reflects the seriousness with which DEA and our partners take fentanyl trafficking in Whatcom and Skagit counties.”
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bellingham Resident Office (DEA), working with the Whatcom County Drug and Gang Task Force, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, the Skagit County Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington State Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, the CBP Air & Marine Operations, the Lummi Police Department, the Everson Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Hobbs.
Pittsburgh Resident Sentenced for Violating Federal Firearms LawsRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Pittsburgh has been sentenced in federal court on a charge of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Chief United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak sentenced Isaac Akwasi Duku, Jr., age 23, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to 34 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to information provided to the court, Duku Jr. has several prior convictions for firearm offenses, some of which involved drugs and indications of drug trafficking. On May 28, 2022, Duku Jr. unlawfully possessed a privately made .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol that was loaded with an extended magazine and 20 rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. Law enforcement observed and recorded Duku Jr. possessing this pistol in Pittsburgh’s North Side using the city’s surveillance system shortly before locating the pistol and ammunition near his person. Under federal law, a convicted felon is prohibited from possessing ammunition.
Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.
Pierce County based drug trafficking organization indicted for distributing cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuanaRead the Press Release
Seattle – Ten members of a South Puget Sound drug trafficking organization were indicted following a lengthy investigation that uncovered the trafficking of marijuana to East Coast locales, and the importation and distribution of fentanyl and cocaine in Western Washington. Multiple search warrants were served this morning and eight people were arrested. Seven will appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma today, and one will appear in U.S. District Court in San Diego today.
“Unfortunately, these defendants were all young- under the age of 30, but the quantity of drugs they were dealing was staggering” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. “They communicated via social media, and they advertised their drugs on social media using codes and emojis. They not only put their lives on a negative path, but they sold dangerous drugs that are harming so many other young people in our community.”
Since the beginning of this investigation in 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration and partner law enforcement agencies have seized nearly 52 kilos of cocaine, more than 23 kilos of fentanyl pills, and 131 kilos of marijuana. One drug shipment seized by law enforcement contained 37 kilos of cocaine and more than a kilo of fentanyl pills. In June 2023, a traffic stop on Interstate 5 resulted in the seizure of 200,000 fentanyl pills that had been hidden in the vehicle.
Those arrested today for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances include:
Joel Adrian Valencia Rosas, 27, of Lakewood, Washington
Scott Bud Burrows, Jr., 26, of Spanaway, Washington
Jesus Emmanuel Cardenas Gonzalez, 22, of Chula Vista, CA
Silias Kapone Hale, 19, of Federal Way, Washington
Ronnie Kendrick, 24, of Lakewood, Washington
Alyson Marie Pyles, 20, of Port Orchard, Washington
KeShaun Marcus Tremper, 18, of Federal Way, Washington
Corey Earl Huff, 39, of Lakewood, Washington, was arrested today for the unlawful possession of a firearm.
“These defendants are accused of trafficking over 150,000 lethal doses of fentanyl to communities in Western Washington and beyond,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “This poison will never reach its potential victims because of the cooperation between DEA and our law enforcement partners in this investigation.”
“This operation will make a sizable dent in the drug trade over multiple states,” said ATF Seattle Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson. “In addition, the participants’ use of firearms as part of this scheme makes these actions even more dangerous to our communities.”
“Illegal drugs continue to have horrific effects on our communities,” said Bonney Lake Police Chief Mark Berry. “Collaborative investigations partnering federal and local law enforcement agencies are a crucial element in reducing the flow of illegal narcotics into our community.”
“Fentanyl is impacting communities all across the country, including here in Lakewood,” said Assistant Chief John Unfred, Lakewood Police Department. “It is for this reason we have partnered with the DEA on this investigation. We hope that this operation will make a big impact in the distribution of this deadly drug. We look forward to continuing this positive working relationship and assisting with cases of this magnitude that impact Western Washington.”
Due to the quantity of drugs involved in this case, some defendants face mandatory minimum ten-year prison terms.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) IRS- Criminal Investigations, TNET (Tacoma Narcotics Enforcement Team), TNT (Thurston Narcotics Task Force), Lakewood PD, Puyallup PD, Bonney Lake PD, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, Tacoma PD, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, and Metro Cities SWAT.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Marci L. Ellsworth and Crystal Correa.
Philadelphia Pharmacy Pays $165,000 to Resolve Allegations of Failing to Maintain Proper Inventory and Documentation of its Controlled SubstancesRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Fountain Hill Pharmacy will pay $165,000 to resolve allegations that it failed to comply with various record-keeping requirements for controlled substances.
Fountain Hill Pharmacy, a Philadelphia pharmacy wholly owned by pharmacists Nicholas Chaffier and Tracy Chaffier, is a registered retail pharmacy authorized to purchase and dispense Schedule II-V controlled substances. The settlement announced today resolves allegations that between October 2019 and November 2022, Fountain Hill Pharmacy failed to maintain complete and accurate records of controlled substances and failed to take a biennial inventory in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”), and specifically, 21 C.F.R. §§ 1304.21(a) and 1304.11(d). Specifically, the settlement resolves allegations that Fountain Hill Pharmacy failed to maintain appropriate inventories of controlled substances including Oxycodone 5mg, Oxycodone 15mg, Oxycodone 30mg, Oxycodone APAP 5mg, Oxycodone APAP 7.5 mg, and Oxycodone APAP 10 mg.
In addition to the $165,000 penalty, Fountain Hill Pharmacy is also now subject to a number of monitoring requirements, including the reporting of controlled substance purchasing, dispensing, and prescribing to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as well as sharing Standard Operating Procedures pertaining to all aspects of purchasing, storing, and distributing controlled substances. In addition, Fountain Hill Pharmacy is responsible for initiating and conducting appropriate training pertaining to DEA regulations for all current and newly hired employees responsible for handling and/or having access to controlled substances.
“Controlled substances, especially opioids, pose extraordinary risks to communities in this district,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “When pharmacies are granted the privilege of purchasing controlled substances, they also accept the significant responsibility of ensuring that controlled substances are used for a legitimate, medical purpose. As a result, they must maintain the records necessary for accountability and transparency. When this does not happen, we will work with our law enforcement partners, and use all available enforcement tools, to hold these pharmacies responsible.”
“Pharmacies are entrusted with the dispensing of powerful prescription painkillers such as oxycodone. With that responsibility comes the obligation to properly safeguard and keep proper inventory over these same drugs,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Civil settlements and the monitoring requirements imposed against Fountain Hill Pharmacy help to ensure that these safeguards are met.”
This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division. For the United States Attorney’s Office, Assistant United States Attorney Deborah W. Frey, and Auditor Andrew Schobert.
Owners of Brooklyn Plumbing Company Indicted for Evading Taxes on More Than $10 Million in IncomeRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Alexander Figliolia, Jr., and Kenneth Sutherland, the owners of Liberty Water & Sewer (Liberty Water), a Brooklyn-based plumbing company which they operate as a partnership, with tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland were arrested earlier today, and their initial appearances are scheduled for this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Thomas Fattorusso, Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the arrests and charges.
“Business owners like everyone else have an obligation to pay their fair share of taxes,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “As alleged, the defendants made millions of dollars repairing water and sewer lines for New York City residents, but instead of dutifully paying the taxes they owed, they improperly classified more than $10 million of personal expenses as business expenses. Their greed drained the government’s coffers of nearly $4 million in tax revenue.”
“Figliolia and Sutherland were living the lavish life while allegedly failing to report more than ten million dollars in income. The yachts, jewelry and family trips were all paid for with money owed to the federal government. Today’s indictment is a message to all those who choose to evade taxes, one day your extravagant lifestyle on the taxpayer dime will come to an end, and you will be prosecuted for your actions,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas Fattorusso.
“The defendants, as charged, evaded taxes on millions of dollars of income from the business they conducted in New York City, by misclassifying lavish personal expenses as business expenses to reduce their tax burden. I thank our federal law enforcement partners for their commitment to hold corrupt contractors in this City accountable,” stated DOI Commissioner Strauber.
"The alleged greed and abuse of trust here are unconscionable. Pocketing funds to support an extravagant lifestyle is an afront to hardworking taxpayers who depended on these men to do honest work," said James Smith, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office. “The FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of significant financial crime and holding the people behind them accountable for their actions.”
As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, between January 2017 and June 2020, the defendants evaded personal income taxes by issuing checks and wiring money from Liberty Water’s bank account to pay for personal expenses. The defendants classified these payments of their personal expenses as business expenses of Liberty Water, thereby reducing Liberty Water’s profits and reducing the defendants’ personal income tax burdens. For example, Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland classified more than $1.75 million of personal credit card expenses, including home renovations, a family trip to Disney World, jewelry, clothing and veterinary expenses, as business expenses. As another example, Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland obtained loans of more than $2.8 million on personal life insurance policies, and repaid the loans using Liberty Water funds, allowing them to siphon that money out of the business without paying taxes. As still another example, Figliolia, Jr., issued more than $4 million in checks from Liberty Water’s bank account to a law firm for the payment of personal expenses, including the purchase of multiple properties and a yacht, but classified them as business expenses of Liberty Water.
In total, Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland intentionally diverted approximately $10,225,213 from Liberty Water between tax years 2017 and 2019, resulting in the evasion of approximately $3,933,046 in federal taxes.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment on each count.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Pilmar and Dana Rehnquist.
The Defendants:
ALEXANDER FIGLIOLIA, JR.
Age: 50
Staten Island, NYKENNETH SUTHERLAND
Age: 62
Staten Island, NYE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-498
Operation Smoke and Mirrors Update: Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Methamphetamine Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. Karl Lamont Funderburk, 37, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, conspiracy to distribute a quantity of cocaine, and conspiracy to distribute a quantity of fentanyl. Funderburk admitted to his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that operated in the Charleston area.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between November 2022 and March 22, 2023, Funderburk conspired with several other people to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and quantities of cocaine and fentanyl while living in Charleston. Funderburk had several regular customers who would purchase each controlled substance from him. Funderburk used runners who would deliver the controlled substances to these customers, collect money or other compensation from them, and return the proceeds to Funderburk.
Funderburk is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 80 years in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $5 million fine.
Funderburk is among 32 individuals indicted as a result of Operation Smoke and Mirrors, a major drug trafficking investigation that has yielded the largest methamphetamine seizure in West Virginia history. Law enforcement seized well over 400 pounds of methamphetamine as well as 40 pounds of cocaine, 3 pounds of fentanyl, 19 firearms and $935,000 in cash.
Funderburk and 24 other defendants have pleaded guilty. Indictments against the other defendants are pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT), the West Virginia State Police, the West Virginia National Guard Counter Drug program, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Charleston Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office. MDENT is composed of the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Nitro Police Department, the St. Albans Police Department and the South Charleston Police Department.
Chief United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy B. Wolfe is prosecuting the case.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-31.
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Ohio Man Transported 27 Kilos of Meth Through KC Aboard BusRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Akron, Ohio, man was charged in federal court today with transporting more than 27 kilograms of methamphetamine through Kansas City, Mo., aboard a bus.
Rogeric Romone Clark, 39, was charged in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., with one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Clark remains in federal custody pending a detention hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.
More than 27 kilograms (60 one-pound bundles) of methamphetamine was seized by law enforcement officers at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station.According to an affidavit filed in support of the federal criminal complaint, members of the Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics Task Force (MoWIN) were conducting interdiction activities at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station on Tuesday, Dec. 5. As passengers disembarked from a bus that originated in Los Angeles, California, officers used a police drug-sniffing dog, which alerted to a suitcase later identified as belonging to Clark. Investigators later identified another suitcase that belonged to Clark.
A detective contacted Clark, who confirmed a suitcase belonged to him and gave officers consent to open it. As the detective opened the suitcase, Clark fled on foot through the rear parking area. Clark fell during the chase and was taken into custody.
Officers searched both of the suitcases and found 30 one-pound bundles in each suitcase that contained a total of 27.2 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Clark told investigators he was supposed to receive $10,000 to transport the illegal drugs to Akron, Ohio.
The charge contained in this complaint is simply an accusation, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charge must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashleigh Ragner. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.
Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Federal Hate Crimes Against Haitian NationalsRead the Press Release
A Springfield, Ohio, man was sentenced in U.S. District Court yesterday to 20 years in prison for committing federal hate crimes targeting and attacking Haitian nationals residing in the area.
Izaye Eubanks, 22, pleaded guilty in August to both federal and local crimes. He admitted to committing hate crimes against at least eight Haitian nationals.
“This defendant is being held accountable for repeatedly assaulting and robbing members of the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, because of their national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Attacks like these, where a group of individuals is targeted for violent abuse and robbery because of who they are, will not be tolerated. The Justice Department will continue to enforce our federal criminal civil rights laws to protect all people in this country, and we will prosecute predators who commit violent, bias-motivated crimes.”
“Hate and discrimination have never had a place in our society. As today’s significant prison sentence shows, they have no place today,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “We will continue to prosecute hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
“The hate crimes committed by Izaye Eubanks threatened and intimidated the immigrant community throughout the region,” stated Special Agent in Charge J. William Rivers of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office. “Because hate crimes have such a wide-ranging impact, investigating these crimes is a top priority for the FBI.”
According to court documents, in January and February, Eubanks committed various assaults, robberies and a carjacking of Haitian individuals because of the victims’ actual and perceived national origin. Eubanks would travel throughout Springfield looking for individuals he believed were from Haiti and then attack the individuals, usually by punching them and knocking them to the ground before robbing them of their money, cell phones, a vehicle and/or other personal belongings.
On Jan. 29, Eubanks assaulted and robbed a victim while the victim was walking to wire $300 in cash to his mother in Haiti. Eubanks punched the victim in the back of the head and neck, causing him to briefly black out, then robbed the victim of his cash, cell phone and ATM cards. That same day, Eubanks assaulted a victim as he left a Haitian market. Eubanks grabbed the victim by his shirt, pulled him out of his vehicle and punched him in the face before stealing the victim’s vehicle.
On Feb. 1, Eubanks directed juveniles to help him complete four separate attacks on five additional victims.
The FBI Cincinnati Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy M. Smith and Ryan A. Saunders for the Southern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.
Naval Commander Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material and Retaining Classified National Defense InformationRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – Gregory Edward McLean, 39, of Jacksonville, Florida, today pleaded guilty to one count of distributing videos depicting the sexual assault of children and one count of unlawful retention of classified national defense information.
According to the plea agreement, state law enforcement in Rhode Island received a cyber tipline report that a user of a particular messaging application had shared videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children. The investigation identified the user as McLean, who was at that time an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander and serving as the Executive Officer of a ship stationed aboard Naval Station Mayport in Florida. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) continued the investigation and identified additional instances where McLean had distributed child sexual abuse material. On Nov. 4, 2021, agents executed a federal search warrant at McLean’s residence, during which they seized numerous electronic devices and storage media. A forensic review revealed that several of these items contained files depicting the sexual abuse of minors.
The forensic review also identified a flash drive – which had been recovered from McLean’s kitchen counter – that contained approximately 150 documents containing national defense information classified at the Secret level and 50 documents containing national defense information classified at the Confidential level. An investigation by NCIS and the FBI revealed that throughout his service as a naval officer, McLean had access to classified information and held a Top-Secret security clearance. McLean had entered into various agreements with the United States regarding the protection and proper handling of classified information and was aware that his home was not an authorized location to store classified national defense information. In particular, the criminal information and plea agreement identify two documents McLean unlawfully retained which contained national defense information related to foreign governments and their combat aircraft and naval capabilities. Disclosure of this information could reasonably be expected to cause damage and, in some instances, serious damage to the national security of the United States.
McLean faces a minimum mandatory penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison for the child exploitation offense and up to 10 years in prison for the retention of classified information offense. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
NCIS, FBI, and Rhode Island State Police are investigating the case, with assistance from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Kirwinn Mike for the Middle District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Naval Commander Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material and Retaining Classified National Defense InformationRead the Press Release
Gregory Edward McLean, 39, of Jacksonville, Florida, today pleaded guilty to one count of distributing videos depicting the sexual assault of children and one count of unlawful retention of classified national defense information.
According to the plea agreement, state law enforcement in Rhode Island received a cyber tipline report that a user of a particular messaging application had shared videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children. The investigation identified the user as McLean, who was at that time an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy, with the rank of Lieutenant Commander and serving as the Executive Officer of a ship stationed aboard a Naval Station Mayport in Florida. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) continued the investigation and identified additional instances where McLean had distributed child sexual abuse material. On Nov. 4, 2021, agents executed a federal search warrant at McLean’s residence, during which they seized numerous electronic devices and storage media. A forensic review revealed that several of these items contained files depicting the sexual abuse of minors.
The forensic review also identified a flash drive – which had been recovered from McLean’s kitchen counter – that contained approximately 150 documents containing national defense information classified at the Secret level and 50 documents containing national defense information classified at the Confidential level. An investigation by NCIS and the FBI revealed that throughout his service as a naval officer, McLean had access to classified information and held a Top-Secret security clearance. McLean had entered into various agreements with the United States regarding the protection and proper handling of classified information and was aware that his home was not an authorized location to store classified national defense information. In particular, the criminal information and plea agreement identify two documents McLean unlawfully retained which contained national defense information related to foreign governments and their combat aircraft and naval capabilities. Disclosure of this information could reasonably be expected to cause damage and, in some instances, serious damage to the national security of the United States.
McLean faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years and up to 20 years in prison for the child exploitation offense and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the retention of classified information offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida, and Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI’s National Security Branch made the announcement.
NCIS, FBI and Rhode Island State Police are investigating the case, with assistance from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Kirwinn Mike for the Middle District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Heather Schmidt of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Muskegon Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing A Firearm Linked to A HomicideRead the Press Release
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced that Ricky Jaimal Meeks, 41, of Lansing, Michigan, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm that was used in a Muskegon-area homicide. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney also ordered Meeks to spend 3 years on supervised release after his confinement.
“Armed domestic abusers are far more likely to inflict serious bodily harm on partners, and potentially create dangerous situations for innocent bystanders and responding law enforcement officers,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “The serious sentence imposed here shows that violent and illegally armed criminals will face serious consequences in federal court.”
Meeks was previously convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm at a jury trial in May 2023. At trial, evidence showed Meeks possessed the firearm on September 11, 2022, in connection with a domestic assault that occurred at a residence in Lansing. When police responded to the scene, Meeks fled in a vehicle, leading officers in a high-speed pursuit until he lost control, crashed into a residence, and attempted to flee on foot before he was apprehended. Judge Maloney increased Meeks’ sentence because Meeks obstructed justice when he fled from police.
At sentencing, the United States presented additional incriminating evidence about the firearm Meeks illegally possessed. Investigators compared ballistics evidence from the firearm that Meeks possessed in Lansing to shell casings located at the scene of the October 5, 2021, homicide of Earnest Hardy, which occurred in the City of Muskegon. Mr. Hardy was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot 10 times. Further analysis and ballistics testing confirmed the shell casings recovered at the homicide scene were fired from the firearm Meeks illegally possessed as a previously convicted felon.
"The FBI is relentless in our pursuit of ensuring safety for families and communities from gun violence," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "We are thankful to our large network of law enforcement partners for their support in combatting violent crimes. The FBI continues to request the public's assistance by calling 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-225-5324) or submitting tips online to http://tips.fbi.gov if anyone believes they may have information that could help save a life from gun violence."
“Ricky Meeks chose to illegally possess an illegal crime gun to commit domestic abuse. Everyone deserves to live in peace without the threat of gun and or domestic violence,” said Detroit Special Agent in Charge James Deir. “Meeks will have significant time to reflect about his poor life choices in federal prison. The message should be clear to everyone: If you choose to carry an illegal firearm, you need to pack your bags for prison.”
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. 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 Federal Bureau of Federal Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Lansing Police Department (LPD), and the City of Muskegon Police Department (MPD). Assistant United States Attorneys Erin K. Lane and Lauren F. Biksacky prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) played a pivotal role in the evaluation of the firearm and shell casing evidence. NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
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Missouri Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a man who produced and received child pornography involving three victims to 50 years in prison.
After a bench trial in May, Judge Ross found William Dahl, 39, of Audrain County, Missouri, guilty of one count of producing child pornography and two counts of receiving child pornography. Judge Ross’ findings of fact said Dahl photographed himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl. He later emailed those images to others. Dahl also received a video of a 16-year-old and a pornographic image of a 7-year-old, the ruling says.
On Wednesday, Judge Ross told Dahl the evidence was “clear, convincing and overwhelming about your guilt.”
The investigation began one of the victims and her family contacted authorities. A subsequent investigation by the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team uncovered more victims.
Dahl met the first victim when she was 13 and he was nearly 23. A second victim met Dahl when he was 36 and she was 16. He bought her a cell phone, alcohol and vaping pods and they exchanged nude pictures. The third victim was 7 at the time of the offense. Dahl’s co-defendant, Jennifer Huddleston, admitted taking photographs of herself sexually abusing the sleeping girl and sending them to Dahl. Huddleston and Dahl were in an on-and-off relationship since 2008.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang said during the hearing that 18 years have passed since Dahl began to prey on female children, and he has been “consistent in trying to seek out and sexually exploit children” during that time.
Judge Ross ordered Dahl’s prison sentence to run consecutive to any sentence he receives for six pending cases in Audrain County Circuit Court and Randolph County Circuit Court.
Judge Ross sentenced Huddleston, 35, in October to 179 months in prison. Huddleston pleaded guilty in May to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
The cases were investigated by the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team and Donya Jackson, an investigator with the U.S. Attorney’s office at the time. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Lang and Amy Sestric prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division'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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Meth trafficking sends Billings man to prison for 15 yearsRead the Press Release
BILLINGS — A Billings man convicted by a federal jury of trafficking methamphetamine after investigators intercepted a package containing the drug hidden in false bottom cans was sentenced today to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
After a two-day trial that began on July 10, the jury found Shane Edward Johnson, 54, guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and prohibited person in possession of ammunition.
U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided.
In court documents and at trial, the government alleged that from about April 2020 until October 2021, Johnson, who has a prior federal drug conviction, conspired to distribute meth in the Laurel and Billings communities. In October 2021, law enforcement intercepted a package shipped through the U.S. Postal Service from California to Laurel. Officers executed a search warrant on the package and found two pounds of meth inside four plastic candles. A co-defendant took possession of the package in a controlled delivery. Law enforcement converged on the residence to execute a search warrant and encountered Johnson and the co-defendant. Agents located a backpack, belonging to Johnson, that contained baggies of meth, a digital scale, approximately $1,000 and two loaded handgun magazines. Johnson was prohibited from possessing ammunition because of his prior felony conviction.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie R. Patten and Zeno B. Baucus prosecuted the case. The U.S. Postal Service, FBI West, Billings Police Department and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
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Melrose Man Sentenced for $375,000 Bank FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A bank teller supervisor was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester for his role in defrauding his employer out of $375,000.
Pablo Rocha, 32, of Melrose, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to six months in prison and two years of supervised release. Rocha was also ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $375,000. In July 2023, Rocha pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.
Between July 2022 and December 2022, Rocha worked as a bank teller supervisor at a federally insured bank in Massachusetts. Rocha used his access to the bank’s vault to steal cash. Rocha then covered his tracks by writing false entries in the bank’s records and by processing fake transactions in the electronic records system to make it appear that the cash had been shipped to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. In total, Rocha stole approximately $375,000.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
Marion Man to Serve 25 Years for Role in Large-Scale Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ABINGDON, Va. – A Marion, Virginia man, who trafficked multiple pounds of methamphetamine into Southwest Virginia since 2021, was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for his role in the conspiracy.
Brian Cory Hoover, 34, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and one additional count of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, twice a month, Hoover transported up to 10 pounds of methamphetamine from Atlanta, Georgia into Southwest Virginia. That methamphetamine was redistributed in Southwest Virginia by Hoover and his co-conspirators Amanda Wain, Travis Farmer, Larry Whittaker, Borve Fisher, and others. Wain, Farmer, Whittaker, and Fisher were all previously convicted for their roles in the conspiracy.
Shortly after law enforcement learned of Hoover’s activities, Hoover fled, leaving Virginia and eventually the United States. He was apprehended in Mexico in June 2023.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI’s Richmond Division made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia State Police’s Holston River Regional Drug Task Force, the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office, the Bristol, Tennessee Police Department, the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Whit D. Pierce is prosecuting the case.
Marion County tax preparer charged with filing false tax returnsRead the Press Release
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jack Lee Oliver, age 55, of Rivesville, West Virginia, has been charged with filing false tax returns.
Oliver was indicted on 32 counts involving the preparation and filing of false tax returns. According to court documents, Oliver is the owner of an insurance sales and tax return preparation business, Insurance Depot, in Fairmont, West Virginia. Oliver is accused of making false claims on his personal tax returns and tax filings for customers, resulting in overpayments of more than $800,000 from the Internal Revenue Service.
Oliver is facing up to three years in federal prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wagner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.
The Internal Revenue Service investigated.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Man Sentenced to Prison for Assault of a Federal Officer After Illegally Entering the United StatesRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Adbiel Martinez-Barrera, 21, of Guerrero, Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 13 months and 1 day in prison. Martinez-Barrera pleaded guilty to Assault of a Federal Officer and Improper Entry by an Alien on September 6, 2023.
On May 5, 2023, a United States Border Patrol agent responded to a call from a Border Patrol camera operator who had spotted two suspected undocumented non-citizens in Douglas. The agent went to the area and located the two subjects, a male and a female, hiding in the brush. The agent was in the process of arresting the female when the male, Martinez-Barrera, who was bigger and heavier than the agent, mounted the agent from behind causing them both to fall to the ground. Martinez-Barrera tried to suffocate the agent by placing his hand over her mouth and nose, restricting her ability to breathe. Martinez-Barrera finally released the agent and fled the area but was later apprehended by other agents who arrived to assist. Martinez-Barrera had illegally crossed into the United States earlier that night.
Customs and Border Protection’s United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Serra M. Tsethlikai, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-23-00777-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-195_Martinez-Barrera# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting Federal Agents in ChicagoRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man has pleaded guilty in federal court to shooting two federal agents and a task force officer who were conducting a covert investigation in Chicago.
EUGENE MCLAURIN, 31, of Chicago, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of assaulting a federal officer and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence. Each firearm count is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in federal prison and a maximum of life. Each assault count is punishable by up to 20 years. McLaurin has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in 2021. U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah set sentencing for March 13, 2024, at 1:30 p.m.
The shootings occurred on the morning of July 7, 2021, when two agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and an ATF Task Force officer were driving in an unmarked law enforcement vehicle while conducting a covert federal investigation on the South Side of Chicago. McLaurin admitted in a plea agreement that he had mistakenly suspected the officers were members of an opposing gang. After following the officers’ vehicle, McLaurin pulled alongside it as the vehicle reached an on-ramp to the I-57 expressway and fired several shots at the officers. The two agents and task force officer were wounded and suffered serious injuries.
Shortly after the shooting, McLaurin disposed of his handgun in a sewer drain and hid the key to his vehicle in the basement of his residence in order to conceal evidence of his involvement in the shootings.
The guilty plea was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of ATF, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Illinois State Police. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Jodrey, Jasmina Vajzovic, and Elizabeth Pozolo.
Man Charged in Federal Court with Conspiring to Rob Armored Trucks and ATMs in Chicago SuburbsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A man was charged in federal court today with conspiring to rob armored trucks and ATMs in Chicago suburbs this year.
BRIAN SNYDER, 24, of Chicago, is charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Snyder is currently detained in law enforcement custody.
According to the complaint, Snyder conspired with others to rob two armored trucks in the Chicago suburbs of Country Club Hills and Chicago Heights, and three ATMs in the Chicago suburbs of Lansing, Blue Island, and Homewood. The conspirators also later attempted to rob a second armored truck in Country Club Hills but did not obtain any money.
In the armored truck robberies, two to five robbers armed with handguns took cash from the truck drivers as they were servicing ATMs or stores, the complaint states. The conspirators often drove stolen vehicles to the robbery locations and abandoned the vehicles afterward, the complaint states.
The complaint was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elie Zenner, Simar Khera, and Kirsten Moran.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The robbery conspiracy charge is punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Snyder complaintLuzerne County Man Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Omar Vargas, age 32, of Drums, Pennsylvania, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani to a term of two years’ imprisonment for trafficking methamphetamine.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Vargas pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on August 21, 2023. The conviction was the result of an encounter between Vargas and law enforcement officers on January 4, 2021, when officers initiated a traffic stop of a car in which Vargas was a passenger. Vargas fled from the scene and entered a third-party residence where he was arrested having been found hiding in the attic. Officers located a baggie containing approximately 56 grams of methamphetamine lying next to the front tire of one of the vehicles that Vargas ran between as he was attempting to flee.
This case was jointly investigated by the DEA in Scranton and the Hazleton (Pennsylvania) Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Todd K. Hinkley prosecuted 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.
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Long Island Pastor Charged with Sexual Exploitation of Children, Coercion and Distribution of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Jose Saez, Jr., a pastor at a church located in Brentwood, will be arraigned this afternoon at the federal courthouse in Central Islip on an indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of children, coercion and enticement of children, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. Saez was arrested on a complaint on September 28, 2023 and has been detained pending trial. Today’s arraignment will be held before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the indictment.
“As alleged, despite the trust and respect placed in him by his community and his congregation, the defendant verbally abused children online and attempted to persuade minors to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves and send them to him via the internet,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “Protecting children from predators and those who sexually exploit them will always be a priority of this Office.”
Mr. Peace thanked the Suffolk County Police Department for their assistance with the case.
“When you go to church you expect to be safe and protected...but that's not what members of Pastor Jose Saez's congregation got. He allegedly possessed child pornography and sexually abused multiple children. This is unfathomable to the families and caused lasting harm to the children. The men and women of the FBI's Long Island Child Exploitation Task Force work tirelessly to protect our children but bad people are still out there. If anyone has any information on Saez or think they know someone who may be a victim, please call law enforcement,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
As set forth in court filings, while employed as a pastor at a church located in Brentwood, New York, Saez allegedly used an encrypted messaging service to engage in sexually explicit conversations with minors and with a law enforcement officer acting in an undercover capacity (the UC). In August of 2023, Saez had online conversations with the UC. During those conversations, the defendant stated that he had sexually abused an infant, that his “sweet spot” for molesting children was children between the ages of 11 and 15, and that he was able to find his younger victims at “church.” Pursuant to a court-authorized search, FBI agents recovered numerous images and videos of child pornography from the defendant.
Anyone with information about sexual exploitation by the defendant is asked to contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 212-384-1000.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Saez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice 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, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark E. Misorek and Adam R. Toporovsky are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
JOSE SAEZ, JR.
Age: 28
Brentwood, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 23-CR-480 (JMA)
Local Business Owner Sentenced for Failure to Pay Employment Taxes and File Federal Tax ReturnRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Bondurant man was sentenced today to 15 months in federal prison for failure to pay over employee trust fund taxes and failure to file a federal tax return.
According to court documents, from 2015 to 2020, Thomas James Morford, 50, who operated a local concrete business, failed to pay $355,049 in employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This included the failure to pay taxes that he had collected from employees through withholding, as well as matching employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare. Morford also failed to file federal tax returns for 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Morford will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Morford was also ordered to pay $355,049.68 in restitution to the IRS.
“Withholding employment taxes from employee wages and willfully failing to remit them to the IRS is a serious offense,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Special Agent in Charge Thomas F. Murdock. “Not only does this harm employees, but it also robs the Treasury of funds and that has the potential to harm all those who rely on support from government programs.”
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
Justice Department Announces Proposed Revision of Application for Presidential PardonsRead the Press Release
Today, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the Justice Department’s proposed revision of the application for presidential pardons for those who have completed their federal sentences. The Attorney General made the announcement during remarks at a convening of the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable. Over the past year, the department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney (Pardon) has coordinated with the Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) to make the first major revisions to the application form in decades.
The revision is aimed at making the form more user-friendly and accessible. Pardon and ATJ extensively engaged with applicants, advocates, and stakeholders, and the revisions implement their important feedback. In revising the form, Pardon and ATJ have utilized a human-centered design approach and best practices in form design, incorporating access to justice principles and research. The revisions reflect ongoing work to expand access to justice through a department-wide effort to simplify public-facing forms and documents, consistent with the recommendations described in the 2022 and 2023 Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Reports.
Notable changes to the proposed form include:
- Eliminating the requirement for notarized signature pages, to reduce the burden on applicants and their character references;
- Asking for less information about applicants’ histories, to streamline the application and make it easier to complete;
- Reframing questions using plain language and eliminating legal jargon; and
- Adding user-focused resources, including enhanced instructions and explanations, a checklist for completion and a table of contents.
Notice regarding the proposed revisions has been published in the Federal Register, and Pardon invites the public’s input on ways to continue to improve. Comments can be submitted through Jan. 16, 2024. The final form will be made available in the spring.
Pardon applications already submitted using the current form need not be resubmitted using the new form. Pardon will continue to process any application received using either form.
ATJ will continue to collaborate with Justice Department components to embed simplification principles and expand access to programs and activities across the department. To learn more about ATJ’s work, please visit the ATJ website. Updates on the work of the Pardon Attorney, or to learn more about the work of the Office of the Pardon Attorney, can be found at Office of the Pardon Attorney | Office of the Pardon Attorney (justice.gov).
Jacksonville Man Indicted for Attempting to Entice and Meet an 11-Year-Old Child to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Amol Chandrashekhar Khedkar (58, Jacksonville) with using his cellphone and the internet to attempt to entice a minor child to engage in sexual activity. Khedkar faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 10 years and up to life in federal prison. Khedkar was arrested by FBI agents on November 29, 2023, in St. Johns County. On December 5, 2023, he appeared in federal court in Jacksonville and was ordered detained pending trial.
According to court documents and evidence discussed in open court, on November 28, 2023, an undercover FBI agent in Jacksonville was conducting an online undercover operation to identify adults who were seeking to make contact with and engage in sexual activity with children. Posing as the parent of an 11-year-old child, the undercover agent posted a notice in a public chat room of a particular online social messaging app. Minutes later, an individual using the app name “drbrownee,” who was subsequently identified as Khedkar, contacted the undercover agent using a private messaging feature of the app. After being advised of the “child’s” age, Khedkar confirmed that he would “love to see the ‘child.’” He asked the undercover agent a number of specific questions about access to the “child” and the “child’s” sexual experience. Khedkar and the undercover agent discussed meeting in person the next day at the “child’s” residence.
On November 29, 2023, Khedkar and the undercover agent exchanged text messages and confirmed that they would meet later that day at the predetermined location in St. Johns County. When Khedkar arrived at the location, he was arrested by FBI agents.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.
It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Gainesville man pleads guilty after fraudulently obtaining Unemployment Insurance benefits in more than 15 statesRead the Press Release
GAINESVILLE, Ga. - Ronald House, who applied for unemployment insurance in his name and the names of others in multiple states during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, has pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge.
“House ran a multi-state scam stealing benefits allotted for those in need,” 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. House compounded his fraudulent conduct by stealing the identities of others to perpetrate his scheme.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic when so many Americans desperately needed unemployment assistance, Ronald House submitted numerous fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to multiple state workforce agencies in his own name, as well as in the names of his relatives, including a deceased family member. As a result, House collected over $170,000 in fraudulent UI payments; benefits which were intended for individuals adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.” said Mathew Broadhurst, Special-Agent- in-Charge, Southeast Region, US. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. “We will continue to work with our federal and state law enforcement partners to safeguard unemployment benefits programs for those who need them.”
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 and health care response 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 have received 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 take advantage of the additional weekly federal benefit, House applied online for fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits using his personal identifying information in California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington State. He also applied for fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits using the personal identifying information of others in several states, including Georgia and Michigan. He fraudulently obtained more than $150,000 in benefits.
Sentencing for House, 66, of Gainesville, Georgia, is scheduled for March 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones.
This case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
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) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Freer resident sent to prison for possessing cocaineRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 35-year-old man has been sentenced following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute a substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Branden Lee Narvaiz pleaded guilty Sept. 13.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Narvaiz to serve 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that at the time of the offense, Narvaiz was on state parole for the same crime.
On April 11, law enforcement stopped Narvaiz for driving on the wrong side of the road. Authorities conducted a search of his vehicle and located cash, cocaine, scales and baggies.
Following the return of a federal indictment, authorities arrested him June 14. At that time, they again found cocaine, money and plastic bags.
As part of his plea, Narvaiz admitted he possessed 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine.
Narvaiz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Department of Public Safety, Duval County Sheriff’s Department and Starr County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Liesel Roscher prosecuted the case.
Four Russia-Affiliated Military Personnel Charged with War Crimes in Connection with Russia’s Invasion of UkraineRead the Press Release
War crimes charges against four Russia-affiliated military personnel were unsealed today in the Eastern District of Virginia. The charges include torture, inhuman treatment, and unlawful confinement of a U.S. national in Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU were each charged in connection with their unlawful detainment of a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The defendants are alleged to have interrogated, severely beaten, and tortured the victim. They also allegedly threatened to kill the victim and conducted a mock execution.
“As the world has witnessed the horrors of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, so has the United States Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why the Justice Department has filed the first ever charges under the U.S. war crimes statute against four Russia- affiliated military personnel for heinous crimes against an American citizen. The Justice Department will work for as long as it takes to pursue accountability and justice for Russia’s war of aggression.”
“Thanks to the tireless and unprecedented work of federal law enforcement agents from Homeland Security Investigations and the Justice Department, four Russian soldiers, accused of unthinkable, unacceptable human rights violations against an American citizen, have been charged with war crimes and will be brought to justice,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The indictments unsealed today send a clear message to Russia – our government will spare no effort and spare no resource to hold accountable those who violate the fundamental human rights of an American.”
“Since the start of their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia has weaponized human rights abuses to wreak unimaginable tragedy,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Today’s indictment – the first ever under the U.S. war crimes statute – makes clear that the FBI will work with the full cooperation of international law enforcement to bring justice to the victims of these atrocities. The human toll of the conflict in Ukraine weighs heavily on the hearts of the FBI, and we’re resolved to hold war criminals accountable no matter where they are or how long it takes.”
“Torturing and unlawfully confining a protected person are serious human rights abuses that must not go unpunished,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These historic criminal charges – the first ever brought under the U.S. war crimes statute – are an important step in the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to pursue every avenue of accountability for those who commit war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.”
According to allegations in the indictment, Mkrtchyan and Budnik were commanding officers of military units of the Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and Valerii and Nazar were lower-ranking military personnel. The defendants are alleged to have been fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine when they allegedly committed war crimes.
In April 2022, Mkrtchyan and soldiers under his command allegedly abducted the victim, a U.S. national, from his home in the village of Mylove in the Kherson Oblast region in southern Ukraine and unlawfully confined him for at least 10 days. During the abduction, Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others allegedly threw the victim face down to the ground while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head, and severely beat him, including with the stocks of their guns. Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others then allegedly transported the victim to an improvised military compound in Mylove.
“These charges reflect that the defendants’ alleged actions are not only grave breaches of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, but also violations of U.S. law,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are proud to be at the forefront of the Justice Department’s effort to hold perpetrators of war crimes violations accountable in Ukraine and will continue to pursue them. We thank our investigative partners on this case, the War Crimes Accountability Team, the FBI Washington Field Office, and Homeland Security Investigations for their outstanding efforts to gather evidence required for these charges.”
The indictment also alleges that Mkrtchyan and Budnik led and participated in at least two interrogation sessions during which the four defendants and others tortured the victim. During one interrogation, Mkrtchyan, Valerii, and Nazar allegedly stripped off the victim’s clothes and photographed him. The defendants and others then allegedly severely beat the victim, pointed guns at the back of his head, and threatened to shoot him. Budnik allegedly threatened the victim with death and asked for his last words. Shortly thereafter, Nazar and others allegedly conducted a mock execution. They allegedly forced the victim to the ground, put a gun to the back of his head, then moved the gun slightly and shot a bullet just past the victim’s head.
“These historic charges are the culmination of a complex investigation by the FBI and our partners that spans the globe,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work alongside our domestic and international partners to pursue justice and hold those accountable who commit such atrocities against others.”
“Acting on behalf of the Russian Armed Forces and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, these four individuals allegedly violated the human rights of an American citizen,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “According to the charges, they unlawfully detained and tortured the American citizen, and even went so far as to carry out a mock execution. The unsealing of these charges for war crimes is an important step in bringing the responsible parties to justice. HSI will continue to aggressively pursue anyone who violates the human rights of our American citizens – at home or overseas.”
The defendants are charged with three war crimes – unlawful confinement, torture, and inhuman treatment – and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The FBI Washington Field Office and HSI Washington, D.C., Field Office, with assistance from the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit and HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, investigated the war crimes allegations in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team, which is based in the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
HRSP Trial Attorney and Lead Prosecutor for the War Crimes Accountability Team Christian Levesque, HRSP Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Blanchard for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case, with significant assistance from Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas W. Traxler for the Eastern District of Virginia. HRSP historians and other staff provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
The Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Appellate Section, Office of Enforcement Operations, and Office of International Affairs, as well as the National Security Division, also provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department is grateful for the substantial assistance the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has provided in furthering the investigation.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States or the location of the defendants named in this indictment are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or through the FBI online tip form or HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through the ICE online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
IndictmentFour Russia-Affiliated Military Personnel Charged with War Crimes in Connection with Russia’s Invasion of UkraineRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – War crimes charges against four Russia-affiliated military personnel were unsealed today. The charges include unlawful confinement, inhuman treatment, and torture of a U.S. national in Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU were each charged in connection with their unlawful detainment of a U.S. national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The defendants are alleged to have interrogated, severely beat, and tortured the victim. They also allegedly threatened to kill the victim and conducted a mock execution.
“These charges reflect that the defendants’ alleged actions are not only grave breaches of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, but also violations of U.S. law,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “We are proud to be at the forefront of the Department of Justice’s effort to hold perpetrators of war crimes violations accountable in Ukraine and will continue to pursue them. We thank our investigative partners on this case, the War Crimes Accountability Team, the FBI Washington Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations, for their outstanding efforts to gather evidence required for these charges.”
“As the world has witnessed the horrors of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, so has the United States Department of Justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “That is why the Justice Department has filed the first ever charges under the U.S. war crimes statute against four Russia- affiliated military personnel for heinous crimes against an American citizen. The Justice Department will work for as long as it takes to pursue accountability and justice for Russia’s war of aggression.”
“Torturing and unlawfully confining a protected person are serious human rights abuses that must not go unpunished,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These historic criminal charges – the first ever brought under the U.S. war crimes statute – are an important step in the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to pursue every avenue of accountability for those who commit war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.”
According to allegations in the indictment, Mkrtchyan and Budnik were commanding officers of military units of the Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. Valerii and Nazar were lower-ranking military personnel. The defendants are alleged to have been fighting on behalf of Russia in Ukraine when they allegedly committed war crimes. In April 2022, Mkrtchyan and soldiers under his command allegedly abducted the victim, a U.S. national, from his home in the village of Mylove in the Kherson Oblast region in southern Ukraine and unlawfully confined him for at least 10 days. During the abduction, Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others allegedly threw the victim face down to the ground while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head, and severely beat him, including with the stocks of their guns. Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others then allegedly transported the victim to an improvised military compound in Mylove.
“Since the start of their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia has weaponized human rights abuses to wreak unimaginable tragedy,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Today’s indictments – the first ever under the U.S. war crimes statute – makes clear that the FBI will work with the full cooperation of international law enforcement to bring justice to the victims of these atrocities. The human toll of the conflict in Ukraine weighs heavily on the hearts of the FBI and we’re resolved to hold war criminals accountable no matter where they are or how long it takes.”
“These historic charges are the culmination of a complex investigation by the FBI and our partners that spans the globe,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work alongside our domestic and international partners to pursue justice and hold those accountable who commit such atrocities against others.”
The indictment also alleges that Mkrtchyan and Budnik led and participated in at least two interrogation sessions during which the four defendants and others tortured the victim. During one interrogation, Mkrtchyan, Valerii, and Nazar allegedly stripped off the victim’s clothes and photographed him. The defendants and others then allegedly severely beat the victim, pointed guns at the back of his head, and threatened to shoot him. Budnik allegedly threatened the victim with death and asked for his last words. Shortly thereafter, Nazar and others allegedly conducted a mock execution. They allegedly forced the victim to the ground, put a gun to the back of his head, then moved the gun slightly and shot a bullet just past the victim’s head.
“Acting on behalf of the Russian Armed Forces and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, these four individuals allegedly violated the human rights of an American citizen and his family,” said Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “According to the charges, they unlawfully detained and tortured the American citizen, and even went so far as to carry out a mock execution. The unsealing of these charges for war crimes is an important step in bringing the responsible parties to justice. HSI will continue to aggressively pursue anyone who violates the human rights of our American citizens – at home or overseas.”
The defendants are charged with three war crimes – unlawful confinement, torture, and inhuman treatment – and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; David Sundberg, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander E. Blanchard, Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) Trial Attorney and Lead Prosecutor for the War Crimes Accountability Team Christian Levesque, and HRSP Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse are prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas W. Traxler provided significant assistance to this case. HRSP historians and other staff provided substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution.
The FBI Washington Field Office and HSI Washington, D.C. Field Office, with assistance from the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit and HSI’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, investigated the war crimes allegations in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Justice Department’s War Crimes Accountability Team, which is based in the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property and Appellate Sections, National Security Division, Office of Enforcement Operations, and Office of International Affairs also provided valuable assistance. The Justice Department is grateful for the substantial assistance the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has provided in furthering the investigation.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States or the location of the defendants named in this indictment are urged to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or through the FBI online tip form or HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through the ICE online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously.
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. 3:23-cr-161.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Founder and Majority Owner of Cryptocurrency Exchange Pleads Guilty to Unlicensed Money TransmittingRead the Press Release
Anatoly Legkodymov, a Russian national also known as “Anatolii Legkodymov,” “Gandalf” and “Tolik,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in Brooklyn to operating a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds. The charges stem from Legkodymov’s majority ownership of Bitzlato Ltd., a cryptocurrency exchange that served as a primary conduit for dark market purchasers and sellers, as well as a safe haven for ransomware criminals. As part of his plea agreement, Legkodymov agreed to dissolve Bitzlato and to release any claim over approximately $23 million in seized assets of Bitzlato. The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Lisa O. Monaco, United States Deputy Attorney General, Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea.
“Legkodymov’s guilty plea today confirms that he was well aware that Bitzlato, his cryptocurrency exchange, was being used like an open turnstile by criminals eager to take advantage of his lax controls over illicit money transactions,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “The defendant may have thought he was operating from a safe haven overseas for his ‘No Questions Asked’ clearinghouse, but this prosecution and conviction demonstrate otherwise.”
“As alleged, Bitzlato advertised a safe haven for fraudsters, thieves, and other criminals to launder illicit proceeds—but their business model didn’t account for federal law enforcement,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “We are dismantling and disrupting the cryptocrime ecosystem using all tools available—including criminal prosecution. In January, the Department and our partners took down Bitzlato’s infrastructure and seized its cryptocurrency. Today’s conviction of Bitzlato’s founder is the latest product of our efforts.”
“Legkodymov operated a cryptocurrency exchange that was open for business to money launderers and other criminals,” stated Acting Assistant Attorney General Argentieri. “He profited from catering to criminals, and now he must pay the price. Transacting in cryptocurrency does not put you beyond the reach of the law. Legkdoymov’s plea demonstrates the consequences for those who would offer a safe haven for criminals and their ill-gotten gains.”
As alleged in public filings, Legkodymov is a senior executive and the majority shareholder of Bitzlato Ltd. (Bitzlato), a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange that operated globally. Bitzlato marketed itself as requiring minimal identification from its users, specifying that “neither selfies nor passports [are] required.” On occasions when Bitzlato did direct users to submit identifying information, it repeatedly allowed them to openly provide information belonging to “straw man” registrants.
As a result of these deficient know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, Bitzlato became a haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity. Bitzlato’s largest counterparty in cryptocurrency transactions was Hydra Market, an online marketplace for narcotics, stolen financial information, fraudulent identification documents, and money laundering services that was the largest and longest running darknet market in the world. Hydra Market users exchanged more than 700 million dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency with Bitzlato, either directly or through intermediaries, until Hydra Market was shut down because of seizures made by U.S. and German law enforcement in April 2022. Bitzlato also received millions of dollars’ worth of ransomware proceeds. The defendant was repeatedly advised that cryptocurrency routed through Bitzlato represented the proceeds of crime and/or was intended for use in illicit transactions.
The investigation was jointly prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), which was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Within the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the Department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI’s Legal Attaché in France provided critical assistance in the case, with support from the department’s Cyber Operations International Liaison. The department also thanks the Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecution Office and to France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command (Cyber Crime Investigation Unit/ C3N).
The government’s case is being prosecuted by CCIPS/NCET Trial Attorney and EDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Mindlin, CCIPS/NCET Trial Attorney Sarah Wolfe, and EDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from former NCET Trial Attorneys Scott Meisler and Matthew Blackwood.
The Defendant:
ANATOLY LEGKODYMOV (also known as “Gandalf” and “Tolik”)
Age: 41
Shenzhen, People’s Republic of ChinaE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-496 (ENV)
Founder and Majority Owner of Cryptocurrency Exchange Pleads Guilty to Unlicensed Money TransmittingRead the Press Release
The founder and majority owner of Bitzlato Ltd. (Bitzlato), a cryptocurrency exchange that served as a primary conduit for dark market purchasers and sellers, as well as a safe haven for illicit transactions by ransomware criminals, pleaded guilty today to operating a money transmitting business that transmitted illicit funds.
In connection with his plea agreement, Anatoly Legkodymov, aka Anatolii Legkodymov, Gandalf, and Tolik, 41, who is a Russian national and resided in Shenzen, People’s Republic of China, agreed to dissolve Bitzlato and to release any claim over approximately $23 million in seized assets of Bitzlato.
“As alleged, Bitzlato advertised a safe haven for fraudsters, thieves, and other criminals to launder illicit proceeds — but their business model didn’t account for federal law enforcement,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “We are dismantling and disrupting the cryptocrime ecosystem using all tools available — including criminal prosecution. In January, the Department and our partners took down Bitzlato’s infrastructure and seized its cryptocurrency. Today’s conviction of Bitzlato’s founder is the latest product of our efforts.”
“Legkodymov operated a cryptocurrency exchange that was open for business to money launderers and other criminals,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He profited from catering to criminals, and now he must pay the price. Transacting in cryptocurrency does not put you beyond the reach of the law. Legkdoymov’s plea demonstrates the consequences for those who would offer a safe haven for criminals and their ill-gotten gains.”
According to court documents, Bitzlato, a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange that operated globally, marketed itself as requiring minimal identification from its users, specifying that “neither selfies nor passports [are] required.” On occasions when Bitzlato did direct users to submit identifying information, it repeatedly allowed them to openly provide information belonging to “straw man” registrants. As a result of these deficient know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, Bitzlato allegedly became a haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity.
“Legkodymov’s guilty plea today confirms that he was well aware that Bitzlato, his cryptocurrency exchange, was being used like an open turnstile by criminals eager to take advantage of his lax controls over illicit money transactions,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. “The defendant may have thought he was operating from a safe haven overseas for his ‘No Questions Asked’ clearinghouse, but this prosecution and conviction demonstrate otherwise.”
Bitzlato’s largest counterparty in cryptocurrency transactions was Hydra Market, an online marketplace for narcotics, stolen financial information, fraudulent identification documents, and money laundering services that was the largest and longest-running darknet market in the world. Hydra Market users exchanged more than $700 million worth of cryptocurrency with Bitzlato, either directly or through intermediaries, until Hydra Market was shut down because of seizures made by U.S. and German law enforcement in April 2022. Bitzlato also received millions of dollars’ worth of ransomware proceeds. Legkodymov was repeatedly advised that cryptocurrency routed through Bitzlato represented the proceeds of crime and/or was intended for use in illicit transactions.
Legkodymov faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI is investigating the case.
The investigation was jointly prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), which was established to combat the growing illicit use of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. NCET conducts and supports investigations into individuals and entities that are enabling the use of digital assets to commit and facilitate a variety of crimes, with a particular focus on virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and infrastructure providers. The NCET also works to set strategic priorities regarding digital asset technologies, identify areas for increased investigative and prosecutorial focus, and lead the Department’s efforts to collaborate with domestic and foreign government agencies as well as the private sector to aggressively investigate and prosecute crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets.
CCIPS/NCET Trial Attorney and EDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Mindlin, CCIPS/NCET Trial Attorney Sarah Wolfe, and EDNY Assistant U.S. Attorney Artie McConnell are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from former NCET Trial Attorneys Scott Meisler and Matthew Blackwood.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI’s Legal Attaché in France provided critical assistance in the case, with support from the Department’s Cyber Operations International Liaison. The Department also thanks the Cyber Division of the Paris Prosecution Office and France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command (Cyber Crime Investigation Unit / C3N).
Founder and Executive of Prior2IPO Indicted in Investment FraudRead the Press Release
A three-count indictment was unsealed this morning in federal court in Brooklyn charging Raymond John Pirrello, Jr., also known as “Ray John,” with securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud relating to a scheme to defraud investors and prospective investors in securities offered by Late Stage Management, LLC through several sales offices, including Prior2IPO which he controlled. Pirrello allegedly made material misrepresentations and omissions relating to, among other things, the existence and amount of fees paid by investors in stock offered by Late Stage. Late Stage offered investors “no fee” opportunities to invest in “Pre IPO” stocks, i.e., shares of stock in companies that anticipated an initial public offering (“IPO”) in the near term. Pirrello was arrested this morning and will be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge James M. Cho.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the charges.
“As alleged, the defendant lied to investors by claiming that the investments made through Late Stage carried no fees and that their full investment would be used to purchase stock, when in reality he was paying himself significant fees on each investment,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will vigorously prosecute those who think it is business as usual to abuse the trust of their clients and profit through fraud.”
Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Regional Office, for their significant cooperation and assistance during the investigation.
"Lying and making material misrepresentations to investors is not just dishonest and bad business, but also a crime. Raymond Pirrello is alleged to have done just that when he advertised no-fee opportunities. In reality there were significant up-front fees from which he personally benefited. The FBI is committed to holding accountable those who seek to profit from lies,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
As set forth in the indictment and other court documents, Late Stage was a New Jersey based manager of investment funds that bought and sold stock issued by privately held companies that anticipated an IPO. Late Stage worked with several sales offices throughout New Jersey, New York and Florida in order to promote the investments. The salespeople used pitches devised by Pirrello and his co-conspirators which consistently touted that the investments carried no upfront fee, and claimed that the only time Late Stage profited was on exit, when the company made its IPO or sold to a larger company, in which case it would be entitled to a 20% share of the investor’s profits. In reality, Late Stage charged substantial fees in the form of markups of stock ranging from 10 to 50% of the stock’s actual per share price. In total, between approximately March 2019 and July 2022, sales offices working on behalf of Late Stage raised approximately $528 million from investors and diverted approximately $88.6 million in undisclosed upfront markups to Pirrello and his co-conspirators.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Pirrello faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
In July 2022, Mr. Peace was selected as the Chairperson of the White Collar Fraud subcommittee for the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC). As the leader of the subcommittee, Mr. Peace plays a key role in making recommendations to the AGAC to facilitate the prevention, investigation and prosecution of various financially motivated, non-violent crimes including wire fraud, such as the fraud that Pirrello allegedly committed.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business & Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Howard Elbert and Jessica Weigel are in charge of the prosecution.
If you believe that you or someone you know was victimized by Pirrello, please inform the FBI at the following website: www.fbi.gov/Pirrello or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI.
The Defendants:
RAYMOND JOHN PIRRELLO, JR.
Age: 47
Sparta, New JerseyE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-499
Fort Eisenhower woman indicted for murder in child’s deathRead the Press Release
AUGUSTA, GA: A U.S. Army spouse at Fort Eisenhower has been indicted on two counts of murder by a federal grand jury.
April Evalyn Short, 30, of Fort Eisenhower – formerly Fort Gordon – was indicted on charges of Premeditated Murder and Felony Murder, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
The indictment alleges that on Nov. 15, 2023, at Fort Eisenhower, Short killed her 11-month-old child by “stabbing and cutting… with an edged weapon while engaged in the knowing and willful perpetration of child abuse.”
Short is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and awaits further proceedings. She is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being investigated by Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division with assistance from the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry W. Syms Jr. and Patricia G. Rhodes.
Former Kentucky Federal Corrections Supervisor Sentenced to 66 Months for Leading Cover-Ups of Inmate Assaults and Making False ReportsRead the Press Release
A former Bureau of Prisons supervisor, Kevin X. Pearce, 39, was sentenced yesterday to 66 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for leading two cover-ups of assaults of inmates held at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy. Pearce was convicted after a six-day trial. His co-defendants, former corrections officers Samuel Patrick and Clinton Pauley, previously pleaded guilty and were respectively sentenced to 36 and 40 months in prison.
“As a supervisor, this defendant was responsible for safeguarding the rights of thousands of inmates, but he abused his authority by leading cover-ups of two violent assaults of inmates in his custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable law enforcement officials who violate federal civil rights laws or who cover up violations. We will protect the rights of all people, including those held inside our jails and prisons.”
“Not only did Pearce have a profound responsibility to protect people in his custody and care, he had an even greater one – to ensure that those under his supervision also protected them,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “He fell well short on both counts. Instead of honoring his obligations, he acquiesced in the abuse by his subordinates and then tried to cover it up. He now faces the consequences of this betrayal of the public trust placed in him.”
“Identifying and investigating law enforcement officials who deliberately violate the oath they take to protect and serve is of utmost importance at the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office. “Pearce not only carried a badge, but he was responsible for ensuring those under his supervision protected the civil rights of all inmates in their facility. FBI Louisville will continue to aggressively pursue public officials who choose to abuse their position of authority.”
“As a supervisor, Pearce had a duty to hold accountable Patrick and Pauley for assaulting inmates in their custody and care,” said Special Agent in Charge William J. Hannah of the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (DOJ OIG) Midwest Region. “Instead, Pearce lied repeatedly to try to cover up these horrific crimes. The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General will continue to aggressively investigate allegations of abuse in federal prisons and any efforts to conceal these heinous acts.”
According to court documents and evidence introduced at trial and sentencing, Pearce, who at that time held the rank of Operations Lieutenant, covered up assaults committed by his co-defendants, Patrick and Pauley, on March 30 and April 29, 2021. On March 30, Patrick and Pauley assaulted an inmate by spraying him in the face with pepper spray and kicking him in the head and upper body. Witnesses, including those who assaulted the inmates, testified that the inmate was not a threat and was compliant, and was assaulted for walking too slowly to his cell, rather than for any legitimate penological purpose. Pearce tried to cover up what happened by writing a false report and pressuring lower-ranking corrections officers to join the cover-up.
On April 29, 2021, Patrick and Pauley assaulted a second inmate by elbowing him in the head and punching him in the body. The victim of that assault had requested protection from other inmates. When the victim, who is white, revealed that he used to affiliate with Black gangs, Patrick referred to him as a “race traitor,” after which Patrick and Pauley both repeatedly struck him in the head and body. Pearce once again tried to cover up what happened by writing a false report and pressuring lower-ranking officers to join the cover-up. Pearce continued to stick with the cover-ups over a year later by making false statements to OIG and FBI agents who were investigating the assaults.
DOJ OIG and the FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky and prosecuted the case.
Former Juneau Armored Transport Guard sentenced to over 2 years for stealing from banks, credit unionsRead the Press Release
JUNEAU, Alaska – A Juneau man was sentenced yesterday to two and a half years in prison and five years’ supervised release for stealing over $579,000 from three banks and two federal credit unions while serving as an armed transport guard.
According to court documents, Austin Nolan Dwight Rutherford, 29, was an armed transport guard for Axiom Armored Transport from January 2019 to March 2022. Axiom provided armed transportation of U.S. currency for several banks, credit unions and ATMs. Rutherford was transferred to Axiom’s Juneau branch in March 2020 and started stealing funds around that time.
An Axiom security camera recorded Rutherford taking a large amount of cash from Axiom property and into his personal vehicle, where he drove away. Bank records later showed that the defendant made multiple cash deposits into his personal bank account totaling over $338,000 and used the money for personal benefit.
The defendant was terminated in March 2022 but continued to make large cash deposits into his bank accounts through May 2022. An internal Axiom audit determined that Rutherford stole a total of $579,400 in bank and credit union funds.
Rutherford pleaded guilty to bank and credit union theft in June 2023. At the time of his plea, the defendant agreed to pay back all stolen funds through restitution. He is also required to pay over $86,000 in additional restitution claims for expenses related to Axiom’s investigation into Rutherford’s actions. The defendant will also serve five years’ supervised release.
“Mr. Rutherford broke the trust of his employer and the people of Alaska by stealing funds for his personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “The United States Attorney’s Office will aggressively prosecute those individuals who threaten the security of our financial institutions and bring them to justice.”
The FBI Anchorage Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt prosecuted the case.
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Former IRS Employee Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering in Connection with COVID-19 FraudRead the Press Release
A Tennessee man pleaded guilty yesterday in connection with a scheme to defraud the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, a federal stimulus program authorized to provide loans to small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
According to court documents, Brian Saulsberry, 47, of Memphis, was employed by the IRS as a Program Evaluation and Risk Analyst in the Human Capital Office. Saulsberry submitted false EIDL applications and obtained $171,400 in loan funds. After obtaining the fraudulent loan funds, Saulsberry transferred the funds to his personal checking account. He then used the loan funds for purposes not authorized by the EDIL program, but instead transferred $100,000 to an investment account, knowing that the property involved in the transaction was derived from unlawful activity.
Saulsberry pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 5, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. 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, U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) J. Russell George, and Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG) made the announcement.
TIGTA and SBA-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Thomas D. Campbell and Assistant Chief Justin M. Woodard of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carroll L. André III for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of an interagency effort to combat and prevent CARES Act fraud by federal employees. In October 2022, the Justice Department announced charges against five former IRS employees for defrauding federal COVID-19 relief programs. All five defendants have been convicted.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Justice Department 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, 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 www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Former Fugitive Sentenced in Odometer Tampering SchemeRead the Press Release
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on December 5, 2023, a Mexican national was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to 12 months and one day in prison for his role in a scheme to roll back odometers on used motor vehicles.
Israel Sanchez-Pulido, 41, of Mexico City, Mexico, pleaded guilty on September 6, 2023, to one count of odometer tampering, one count of making a false odometer statement, and one count of conspiracy.
As part of his plea agreement, Sanchez-Pulido admitted that, between 2009 and 2014, he purchased 146 high-mileage vehicles at Wisconsin auto auctions, rolled back the odometers, altered the mileage statements on the vehicle title paperwork, and then sold the vehicles with fraudulently low odometer readings to unsuspecting victims, who were primarily from Illinois. Sanchez-Pulido purchased the cars at auto auctions located in Wisconsin and drove them to a used car dealership in Evanston, Illinois. He then rolled back the odometers, reflecting a much lower mileage, and altered the vehicle title to match the false mileage, often by simply erasing the first digit of the mileage on the title or by writing over the accurate mileage reading. Sanchez-Pulido then represented to buyers the false mileage, which often exceeded 100,000 miles lower than the true mileage and sold the vehicles for more money than the vehicles were worth. The estimated fraud-loss of the 146 vehicles involved in this schemed exceeded $250,000.
On March 5, 2014, Sanchez-Pulido was arrested and charged by criminal complaint. During the subsequent detention hearing, he was granted release after posting a property-secured bond, and he was ordered to return to court for arraignment on April 14, 2014. Sanchez-Pulido never appeared.
He absconded and remained a fugitive for nearly ten years until June 2023, when local law enforcement stopped Sanchez-Pulido for a traffic violation in Illinois and discovered the outstanding arrest warrant from the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Judge Lynn Adelman sentenced Sanchez-Pulido to 12 months and one day of incarceration. At the request of the government, restitution will be addressed on March 1, 2024.
“Individuals who engage in these types of schemes seek to line their own pockets at the expense of consumers who can least afford it,” stated U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. “In addition, after being charged, this defendant absconded and avoided the consequences of his actions for the better part of a decade. I commend our hard-working federal and state partners who helped pursue justice for the victims in this case.”
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Odometer Fraud Investigation, with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Trial Attorney Edward Dunn of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Koenig of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, prosecuted the case.
NHTSA estimates that odometer fraud in the United States results in consumer losses of more than $1 billion annually. Individuals with information relating to odometer tampering should call NHTSA’s odometer fraud hotline at (800) 424-9393.
More information on odometer fraud is available on the NHTSA website at https://www.nhtsa.gov/odometer-fraud and tips on detecting and avoiding odometer fraud are available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/811284.pdf.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi.
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Former Fairchild Airman Sentenced for Possession of Stolen AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that John I. Sanger, 31, of Rigby, Idaho, was sentenced after pleading guilty to Possession of Stolen Ammunition. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 24 months in prison to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
According to court documents and information provided at sentencing, in August of 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) opened an investigation into Sanger, based on information Sanger was associated with two social media accounts − “awakened cascadian” and “problematicpatriot.” Sanger had used these accounts to discuss committing acts of violence to advance a political agenda. In December of 2020, Sanger used the “problematic pariot” account to call for the violent seizure of the U.S. Capitol building, stating, “They defrauded our election system and are still getting away with it. That means the system has run it’s course. People have to die.”
During the investigation, an Undercover Officer met with Sanger and discussed issues involving minorities, opposition to vaccines, and targeting of critical infrastructure. Specifically, the Undercover Officer and Sanger discussed targeting the Spokane County Public Health building and COVID-19 testing sites using a Molotov cocktail.
In March of 2022, Sanger told the Undercover Officer that multiple Air Force members stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane were stealing ammunition from the Air Force and shooting the ammunition, which was paid for by taxpayers, for personal use. Sanger told the Undercover Officer that he was receiving stolen ammunition from another Air Force member, Staff Sergeant Nathan Richards, of the Fairchild 92nd Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms Training Management (CATM) section. Members of this section are trained in firearms and had access to ammunition.
On March 12th, 2022, Sanger, the Undercover Officer, Richards and Staff Sergeant Eric Eagleton, who also was a member of CATM, met to go target shooting at Fishtrap Lake. While at the range, Richards retrieved a plastic bag with hundreds of rounds of loose, green tip 5.56 M855 rounds and gave it to Sanger. Richards said that members of CATM would falsify records so that it appeared the stolen ammunition had been expended in the course of Air Force duties. After Sanger and others finished shooting, Sanger gave the Undercover Officer some of the stolen ammo Sanger received from Richards.
In April of 2022, Agents observed Sanger and Eagleton meet in the parking lot of the Northern Quest Resort and Casino. The agents observed Eagleton give Sanger a military-style ammunition can containing stolen ammunition. Following that meeting, Sanger sent the Undercover Officer text messages with photographs showing the stolen ammunition he had been given by Eagleton. A few days after the meeting, the UC and Sanger went to the Fishtrap shooting range and shot about 250 rounds of stolen ammunition.
Later that month, The Undercover Officer and Sanger met at the Undercover Officer’s RV. During the meeting, the Undercover Officer handed Sanger an unregistered gun suppressor Sanger had previously paid the Undercover Officer to buy for him. When Sanger exited the RV, he was arrested by the FBI and OSI special agents. Sanger was still in possession of the suppressor.
At the time Sanger was placed under arrest, the FBI and OSI special agents executed a series of search warrants at Sanger’s home. Agents located several firearms, firearm parts, empty firearm magazines and ammunition. They also found numerous patches, stickers, and paraphernalia associated with white supremacy and the neo-Nazi movement.
“Theft from the military is an affront to honorable men and women who dedicate their lives to government and military service in order to keep America safe and strong. I will not tolerate any abuse of trust by those charged to protect our great country,” stated U.S Attorney Waldref. “I applaud the tireless work and dedication of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and our Federal Prosecutors in bringing Mr. Sanger to justice.”
“Like all who served the United States, Mr. Sanger took an oath when he enlisted in the military,” said Richard A. Collodi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “His actions violated that oath, and he violated the trust imparted to him by the American people. I am proud of the work of our investigators and partners to quickly bring an end to Mr. Sanger’s conduct before his violent rhetoric turned into action.”
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Seattle Field Office, Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force (“INJTTF”), and the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI).
This case was prosecuted by Patrick J. Cashman, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
2:22-cr-00052-TOR
Foreign Nationals Charged with International Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – December 6, 2023
SAN DIEGO – Three indictments were unsealed in the Southern District of California today charging 29 individuals with international drug trafficking offenses.
The unsealing of the indictments comes at the same time that the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against nine of the defendants for their ties to the Beltran Leyva Organization, a violent, Mexico-based group involved in trafficking drugs to the United States for over two decades. Please see https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1952
“These indictments have neutralized dozens of alleged maritime traffickers and prevented addictive, harmful, and increasingly often deadly drugs from reaching American shores and streets,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Cases like this are critical for disrupting, disabling, and dismantling the sinister and deadly operations of foreign drug trafficking organizations in the United States.”
“Today’s announcement sends a clear message that Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners will use all available measures to investigate and dismantle transnational criminal organizations (TCO) responsible for the smuggling, transportation, and distribution of narcotics and illicit proceeds – wherever they attempt to operate” said Chad Plantz, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “HSI San Diego’s sophisticated and global investigation demonstrates law enforcement’s commitment to disrupting this TCOs criminal activities. We, along with our law enforcement partners, are committed to protecting the United States’ financial infrastructure from bad actors.”
Five related indictments were also unsealed today in the District of Columbia, Central District of California and Northern District of Illinois charging an additional 31 Mexican and foreign nationals with international heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana trafficking, bringing the total to 60 charged. Please see Office of Public Affairs | Sixty Foreign Nationals Charged with International Drug Trafficking | United States Department of Justice
“The eight indictments unsealed today charging 60 defendants are the latest installments in the Justice Department’s relentless pursuit of drug trafficking organizations that smuggle illicit narcotics into the United States,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Together with our partners — across the U.S. government and around the world — we will use every tool at our disposal and target every link in the supply chain to dismantle the organizations that flood our communities with deadly narcotics.”
In San Diego, one indictment returned in September 2019, 19CR3736-GPC, charges Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, Servando Lopez Lopez, and another individual with conspiring to distribute cocaine knowing it would be imported into the United States and a maritime drug conspiracy.
A second indictment returned in April 2023, 23CR0621-BAS, charges Juan Pablo Bastidas Erenas, Bogar Soto Rodriguez, Juvenal Leon Rodriguez, Mario German Beltran Araujo, Ulises Franco Figueroa, Oscar Aleman Meza, and 17 others with the same offenses.
The third indictment returned in April 2023, 23CR0699-GPC, charges Josue De Jesus Estrada Gutierrez, and two others with conspiring to import cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl.
OFAC announced sanctions against Iribe, Lopez, Erenas, Soto Rodriguez (under the name Ricardo Estevez Colmenares), Leon Rodriguez, Araujo, Figueroa, Meza, and Gutierrez (under the name Jose De Jesus Estrada Gutierrez) on the same date the indictments were unsealed.
One defendant, Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, aka Salgado and Musico, 49, is indicted in the Southern District of California , the District of Columbia and the Northern District of Illinois. As alleged in court documents, Gastelum Iribe coordinated deliveries of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin into the United States and deliveries of millions of dollars of cash narcotics proceeds from customers in the United States for the Beltran Leyva Organization.
This case is supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua C. Mellor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison B. Murray. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.
DEFENDANTS Case Number 19cr3736-GPC
Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe *All Defendants are from Mexico
aka “El Musico,”
aka “Salgado,”
Servando Lopez Lopez
aka “El Huevo,”
Jose Fernando Zambada Ley
aka “El Chino”
Case Number 23cr-0621-GPC_
Juan Pablo Bastidas Erenas,
aka “Payo,”
Ugan Lopez Beltran,
aka “Kiwuas,”
aka “Prada,”
Bogar Soto Rodriguez,
aka “Loco,”
aka “Tio,”
Juvenal Leon Rodriguez,
aka “Gallo,”
Arnoldo Villa Sanchez,
aka “Arnol,”
Mario German Beltran Araujo,
aka “El Ninon,”
Jose Roberto
Navarrete Mendoza,
aka “Mono,”
Cesar Homero
Magallanes Gonzalez,
aka “Chayo,”
Ulises Franco Figueroa,
aka “Charco,”
Elvis Villatoro De La Cruz,
aka “Yogurt,”
Jesus Alonso Zamora Roman,
aka “Sobrino,”
Luis Antonio Espeleta Esparza,
aka “Negro Trailero,”
Jose Misael Macedo Alvarez,
Jose Francisco Osuna Osorio,
aka “Gabino,”
Eduardo Adalberto Sustaita Castaneda,
aka “Susto,”
Carlos Antonio
Pacheco Castaneda,
Jesus Sergio
Santiago Gonzalez,
aka “Zucaritas,”
Oscar Aleman Meza,
Lorenzo Mendez Sanchez,
aka “Lencho,”
Juan Manuel Hernandez Soto,
aka “Piki,”
aka “Guero,”
Pedro Rodriguez Moreno,
Francisco Ramon
Pelaez Luengas,
aka “Wawis,”
Eduardo Gabriel Ibarra Mone
Case Number 23cr-0699-GPC_
Josue De Jesus
Estrada Gutierrez,
aka “Barbas,”
aka “Barbon,”
Brayan Carrizoza Arredondo,
Alejo Lopez Perez,
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 959, 960 and 963
Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine on Board a Vessel - Title 46, U.S.C., Secs. 70503 and 70506(b)
Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances - Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 952, 960 and 963
Maximum penalty: Life in prison with a 10-year mandatory minimum; $10 million fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Drug Enforcement Administration
Coast Guard Investigative Service
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.