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Thursday 30 November 2023
Goshen Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison and Ordered to Pay $2,313,873.28 in RestitutionRead the Press Release
SOUTH BEND – Earl D. Miller, 44 years old, of Goshen, Indiana, was sentenced today by United States District Court Senior Judge Jon E. DeGuilio on guilty verdicts returned by a federal jury after a five-day jury trial in May 2022, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
On May 13, 2022, Miller was found guilty by the federal trial jury of five counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. That same jury acquitted Miller of one count of wire fraud and one count of bankruptcy fraud.Miller was sentenced to 97 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,313,873.28 in restitution.
According to documents in the case, Miller became the sole owner of “5 Star”, a real estate investment firm, in July of 2014. Through 5 Star and it its numerous related entities, Miller obtained funds from multiple investors’ by fraudulently telling them he would invest their funds in certain real estate investments but then actually using their funds in other ways, such as paying interest to other investors, investing in non-disclosed entities, paying for a spiritual advisor and a pontoon boat. From July of 2014 to January of 2016, Miller made over $4.5 million worth of payments from 5 Star accounts to entities not disclosed or approved by investors. Approximately 80% of investors in 5 Star were Amish or Mennonite.
On January 25, 2016, Miller filed petitions for bankruptcy relief on behalf of eleven 5 Star related business entities. In these bankruptcy proceedings, the United States Trustee appointed a chapter 11 trustee to administer the cases, and the chapter 11 trustee was able to recover some improper payments Miller had made and, on July 2, 2018, negotiate an agreement with Miller to pay $600,000 to the bankruptcy estates. As of April 2021, he had only paid approximately $36,000.00 of the agreed amount to the bankruptcy estates.
United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson said, “The essence of this defendant’s crime is that he convinced people to invest in businesses by telling them a lie: that their money would be invested one way, while he used those funds in other ways. Mr. Miller’s crimes are particularly offensive because trial evidence showed that he perpetrated his fraud against Amish and Mennonite community members. This case shows that my office will vigorously prosecute affinity frauds.”
“Today’s sentencing should serve as a strong reminder that there are consequences for this illegal behavior and those who choose fraud will be held accountable,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “The FBI and our partners will continue to be relentless in our pursuit of those engaging in criminal behavior.”
“Today’s sentence shows that abusive and fraudulent conduct will not be tolerated, and the bankruptcy system and its integrity will be protected through the commitment of U.S. Attorney Johnson and our law enforcement partners,” said Nancy J. Gargula, the United States Trustee for Indiana and the Central and Southern District of Illinois (Region 10). The United States Trustee Program is the component of the Justice Department that protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system by overseeing case administration and litigating to enforce the bankruptcy laws. Region 10 is headquartered in Indianapolis with additional office in South Bend, IN and Peoria, IL.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Northern Indiana Bankruptcy Fraud Working Group coordinated by Region 10 U.S. Trustee Nancy J. Gargula. The U.S. Security Exchange Commission along with the Fairfax County Virginia and Salinas California Police Departments also assisted in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John M. Maciejczyk and Jerome W. McKeever
Global Law Enforcement Collaboration through Operation Atlas Yields 223 Violent Transnational Fugitives Arrested and 581 Fugitives Located in 70 CountriesRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – INTERPOL Washington, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France, recently marked the completion of Operation Atlas, a year-long joint operation to find and arrest violent transnational fugitives across the world.
Since October 2022, U.S. and international law enforcement officials, working through Operation Atlas, arrested 223 fugitives and positively located 581 fugitives in 70 different countries, including 556 wanted in the United States. Of the fugitives targeted by the operation, 334 were the subjects of then active INTERPOL Red Notices*. The fugitives were wanted to stand trial for offenses including, but not limited to, homicide, crimes against children, kidnapping, sex offenses, robbery, and illegal weapons.
The fugitives wanted under Red Notices were targeted jointly by INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support unit and the U.S. Marshals Service in collaboration with officers of the relevant INTERPOL member countries.
“Operation Atlas serves as a model of domestic and international law enforcement cooperation to bring the worst of the worst to justice,” said INTERPOL Washington Director Michael A. Hughes. “Our communities, both in the United States and across the globe, face unprecedented transnational threats each and every day. The only way to defeat them is through transnational partnerships. Working together, we can make a difference.”
During the course of the operation, Atlas task forces met at global INTERPOL sites each quarter, enabling investigators to collaborate on fugitive cases in-person. These operational-level meetings brought together law enforcement partners from more than 20 countries, providing enhanced opportunities for information collecting and sharing. The task forces were held at Regional Bureau San Salvador, the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore, the General Secretariat in Lyon, and Regional Bureau Buenos Aires.
“Atlas was a remarkably successful year-long operation highlighting the U.S. Marshals Service's capacity to locate fugitives no matter the distance they travel, or the borders they cross,” said U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald L. Davis. “Through international cooperation, we have strengthened partnerships, information sharing, and coordination among nations that will continue to bring fugitives to justice.”
INTERPOL has been leading international operations targeting fugitives through its history and, since 2009, under the International Fugitive Round-up and Arrest (INFRA) model. “These fugitives have been located thanks to the power of international cooperation. As INTERPOL completes its 100th year, Operation Atlas stands as a testament to our ability to unite across borders for a common cause and work together as partners to overcome the most complex fugitive challenges to make the world a safer place,” said INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services Stephen Kavanagh.
A component of the U.S. Department of Justice co-managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, INTERPOL Washington—the U.S. National Central Bureau (USNCB)—is the designated U.S. representative to INTERPOL. It serves as the national point of contact and coordination for all INTERPOL matters, coordinating international investigative efforts among member countries and the more than 18,000 local, state, federal, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies.
*A Red Notice is an international alert for a wanted person, but it is not an arrest warrant. Member countries apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person.
Georgia Tech and Georgia Tech Research Corporation pay $90,000 to resolve allegations of violations of the False Claims ActRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – The Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) and Georgia Tech Research Corporation (“GTRC”) have agreed to pay $90,000 to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by failing to exercise proper oversight sufficient to allow them to detect the submission of false claims to the National Science Foundation (“NSF”).
“Federal grants and awards come with known ‘rules of the road,’” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Organizations that receive federal funds—especially schools and universities that are pillars of our community—must take steps to ensure that their employees are following the rules. This settlement represents our office’s commitment to ensuring accountability for institutions that fail to live up to these obligations.”
The government’s investigation concerned an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (“IUCRC”) grant. The IUCRC program fosters pre-competitive research through multi-member collaborations among industry, academic, and government partners. The award at issue was made to a project entitled the “Center for Health Organization Transformation.”
“The IUCRC program is a valuable tool in advancing NSF’s mission to promote the progress of science by developing long-term partnerships among industry, academia, and government,” said Allison Lerner, NSF’s Inspector General. “The NSF Office of Inspector General is committed to vigorously pursuing oversight of taxpayer funds and protecting the integrity of this important program. We are pleased that Georgia Tech changed its practices to better safeguard IUCRC funds, and I commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its strong support in this effort.”
The settlement amount is in addition to $105,000 that Georgia Tech has already returned to the NSF in connection with this award. As part of the settlement, Georgia Tech and GTRC agreed to implement training requirements for employees that handle IUCRC grants and a procedure for employees to report material instances of noncompliance with NSF award requirements.
The settlement resolves allegations that from April 2014 to March 2019, Georgia Tech and GTRC failed to engage in proper oversight of the grant program, which led to Georgia Tech and GTRC’s failure to detect and prevent the submission of false claims to NSF concerning the number of industry members participating in the Center for Health Transformation and the amount of membership fees paid or received on membership certifications for the award. Industry participation is a core component of the IUCRC model. Although NSF awards act as seed money for centers, the program requires industry members to provide the primary base of financial support.
The investigation of this matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Akash Desai and Austin M. Hall. The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.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.
Gang Member Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Racketeering and Firearms ChargesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips gang was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for his role in a racketeering conspiracy and for possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Rahjon Cox, aka “Tsu Surf,” 32, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to two counts of a superseding indictment that charged him with Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy and possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon. Judge Wigenton imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2015 through Sept. 22, 2022, Cox was a member of the Rollin’ 60s Neighborhood Crips, a criminal enterprise responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of controlled substances in New Jersey and elsewhere. Cox held a leadership role within the enterprise. On March 18, 2017, Cox shot a firearm at a gang rival. On July 24, 2019, in Essex County, New Jersey, Cox, a convicted felon, knowingly possessed two loaded firearms.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Wigenton sentenced Cox to three years of supervised release and fined him $15,000.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the DEA, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tammy Tomlins, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller, as well as investigators of the U.S. Marshals Service, under Marshal Juan Mattos’ direction; the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Police Division Director Tracy Bowers, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II, the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Fragé, the Bloomfield Police Department, under the direction of Director of Public Safety Samuel A. DeMaio, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, under Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura’s direction, the East Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief Phyllis L. Bindi, the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Earl J. Graves, the Edison Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Tom Bryan, the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William A. Daniel, the Spotswood Police Department, under the direction of Chief Philip Corbisiero, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Fugitive and Missing Person Task Force, which includes members of the FBI, for the investigations leading to the charges in the Rollin 60’s Neighborhood Crips investigation.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Unit.
Four Individuals Charged with Drug-Distribution ConspiracyRead the Press Release
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Four people have been indicted on drug-distribution charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent in Charge Brad L. Byerley.
A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Jasmond Dewand Foster, aka “Jazz”, 36, of Florence, Victor Manuel Alcocer-Gonzalez, 37, of Mexico, Edgar Camacho-Reyes, 36, of Mexico, and Jose Salomon Gorozquieta-Gusman, 31, of Mexico, with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine These crimes allegedly occurred between July 16, 2023 and July 26, 2023, in Lauderdale County. Alcocer-Gonzalez, Camacho-Reyes and Gorozquieta-Gusman were also charged with manufacturing and possessing with intent to manufacture 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Camacho-Reyes and Gorozquieta-Gusman were charged with illegal re-entry after deportation.
The minimum penalty for conspiracy to distribute and manufacture methamphetamine is 10 years in prison. The maximum penalty for illegal re-entry after deportation is 10 years in prison.
The DEA investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell is prosecuting the case.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Former office manager pleads guilty to embezzling over 3.5 million dollarsRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Sonya Hesenius, a former office manager and executive assistant for an Alpharetta company, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud after embezzling over $3.5 million between 2015 and 2020.
“Hesenius stole millions of dollars from her employer to fund a lavish lifestyle,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Those entrusted with a fiduciary role for a company accept great responsibility. The defendant’s actions demonstrate that she cared far more about personal gain and much less about the faith and trust that her employer placed in her.”
“Hesenius worked in a position of trust for a company that expected her to honor that trust,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Instead, she chose to abuse it and her personal greed not only hurt the company, but everyone who worked for them. This plea should send the message that the FBI takes wire fraud extremely seriously and will work to hold offenders accountable.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between 2015 and 2020, while employed as an office manager and executive assistant at an Alpharetta, Georgia company providing yard care services, Sonya Hesenius made fraudulent charges on corporate credit cards and caused the company to reimburse her personal credit card for personal expenses. To conceal her scheme, she coded and approved all the charges herself, withheld supporting documentation from the company, and disguised the unauthorized expenditures in the company’s system as legitimate expenses – such as newspaper advertisements. Hesenius also disseminated the expenditures among different job sites to further conceal the fraud.
Hesenius used the embezzled funds to pay for a variety of personal expenses, including, among other things, her daughter’s wedding at the Barnsley Resort; cash transfers through PayPal, Venmo, and Square; Luis Vuitton and Chanel handbags; plane flights for Hesenius and more than 20 of her family members and friends; season tickets for University of Tennessee football and basketball teams; a recreational vehicle; hotels; furniture; cruises; and clothing items. In total, Hesenius embezzled more than $3,500,000.
Sonya Hesenius, 59, of Suwanee, Georgia, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for March 6, 2024, at 10:00 am before U.S. District Judge Victoria M. Calvert.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. O'Neal is prosecuting the case.
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.
Former city commissioner sentenced for role in bribery conspiracyRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas - A former Weslaco city commissioner has been sentenced 30 months for his role in a bribery conspiracy that involved city contracts worth tens of millions of dollars, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gerardo Tafolla, 57, along with former Weslaco City commissioner John F. Cuellar, accepted bribes from Arturo C. Cuellar Jr., Ricardo Quintanilla and others in exchange for official action favorable to engineering companies seeking large contracts with the city.
From approximately March 2008 through December 2015, one of the participants in the scheme received approximately $4.1 million from two engineering companies and shared nearly $1.4 million with Arturo Cuellar, a former Hidalgo County commissioner. Arturo Cuellar then used a company he controlled to facilitate the payment of approximately $405,000 in bribes to his cousin, John Cuellar, which were disguised as legitimate legal expenses. In exchange for these payments, John Cuellar took several official actions to benefit the companies, including helping to award contracts worth approximately $38.5 million to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment facilities. Quintanilla received approximately $85,000 during the course of the scheme and used that money to pay cash bribes to Tafolla for his official actions to benefit the companies that received the water treatment plant contracts.
In October 2022, a jury convicted Arturo Cuellar and Quintanilla for their roles in the bribery conspiracy. Arturo Cuellar was later sentenced to 20 years in prison and Quintanilla was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison. John Cuellar was sentenced to three years in prison after previously pleading guilty in August 2019. Tafolla pleaded guilty in April 2019 to federal program bribery.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division and Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation Houston Field Office made the announcement as well.
The FBI San Antonio Field Office and IRS-CI Houston Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. prosecuted the case along with Trial Attorney William J. Gullotta and Acting Deputy Chief Marco A. Palmieri of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN). Trial Attorney Peter M. Nothstein and former PIN Trial Attorneys Erica O’Brien Waymack and Jessica C. Harvey provided valuable assistance.
Former WVDEP Official Sentenced for Theft of Federal Grant FundsRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jerry D. Elkins, 54, of Danville, was sentenced today to three years of federal probation, including 10 months on home detention, and ordered to pay $94,197.93 in restitution for theft from programs receiving federal funds. Elkins admitted to fraudulently obtaining $94,197.93 of federal abandoned mine land (AML) remediation sub-grant funds while employed by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Elkins also set up a shell limited liability company to receive a portion of the sub-grant award funds and created fraudulent invoices in an attempt to conceal the nature of the payments.
According to court documents and statements made in court, from on or about April 2017 until on or about August 7, 2019, Elkins assisted Aleksey Krylov and one of Krylov’s companies with their application for a DEP AML pilot program sub-grant. The DEP receives grant funding from the United States Department of the Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) for, among other purposes, accelerating the remediation of eligible sites for economic revitalization and community development purposes under the Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) program.
Since 2016, West Virginia has received $181 million in AMLER block grant funds. Numerous private entities apply to receive AML sub-grants, and the process for selecting projects to receive sub-grant awards is competitive.
Elkins was initially a regional planner and later an inspector for the DEP during the time period, and had become acquainted with Krylov prior to joining the DEP. Krylov and his company proposed to construct and operate an aquaponics facility that would produce commercial quantities of vegetables and fruits at a project site near Madison. To assist Krylov and his company, Elkins collected water samples, obtained public support, boosted Krylov’s project internally at DEP, provided his opinion and suggestions for improving the sub-grant application, and continuously monitored the application’s status.
In August and September 2018, Elkins registered a limited liability company, Wanaque River Holdings LLC (“Wanaque”), in Delaware and opened a bank account for Wanaque at a bank in Charleston, West Virginia, in order to receive and obscure payments from Krylov. Elkins admitted that Wanaque had no other legitimate business purpose besides receiving funds from Krylov and Krylov’s companies. Elkins further admitted that he directed the creation of a third-party pay-bill account through Bill.com, a cloud-based payments platform, that was used to send invoices from Wanaque to companies under Krylov’s control.
From about October 19, 2018, through about August 7, 2019, Wanaque received $94,197.93 in electronic fund transfers and checks from Krylov and his companies. Elkins admitted that the $94,197.34 originated from the aquaponics project’s sub-grant reimbursements from the DEP and were ultimately diverted to him. Elkins further admitted that he had no right to receive those funds and fraudulently converted them to his own use. Elkins also admitted to taking steps to hide, conceal and cover up his activity and the nature and scope of his dealings with Krylov. Those steps included failing to list his interest in Wanaque when he signed the federal OSMRE State Employee Statement of Employment and Financial Interest form on February 20, 2019.
Krylov, 42, of South Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting theft from programs receiving federal funds on July 27, 2023, and awaits sentencing.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the investigative work of the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General-Office of Investigations, and the West Virginia Commission on Special Investigations.
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Kathleen Robeson and Holly Wilson prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-78.
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Former U.S. Marine Pleads Guilty to Firebombing a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Orange County and Admits to Planning Additional AttacksRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – An Orange County man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in March 2022 and admitted to plotting other attacks.
Chance Brannon, 24, of San Juan Capistrano, who was an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton at the time of the offense, also admitted to making plans for additional attacks on a second Planned Parenthood clinic, a Southern California Edison substation, and an LGBTQ pride night celebration at Dodger Stadium.
Brannon pleaded guilty to all counts of the four-count indictment: conspiracy, malicious destruction of property by fire and explosives, possession of an unregistered destructive device, and intentional damage to a reproductive health services facility – a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
Brannon has been in custody since his arrest in June 2023.
“This defendant exemplifies the insidious danger posed by domestic extremism,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “The defendant, who was a member of the U.S. military, admitted not only to attacking a Planned Parenthood facility but also to planning for attacks on the power grid and a pride celebration at Dodger Stadium. We must never waver in our commitment to protect the American people from violent extremist ideology.”
“Extremist violence fueled by an insular hatred intended to intimidate law abiding Americans will not be tolerated,” said FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director in Charge Don Alway. “It is crucial that individuals who seek reproductive health services be able to obtain them in an environment that is free from interference, intimidation, and fear. Together with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, the FBI is committed to defending the American people against such acts of cruelty.”
“NCIS is a proud member of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and we are committed to swiftly and thoroughly investigating those who perpetrate acts of terror against our fellow Americans,” said Special Agent in Charge Todd Battaglia of the NCIS Marine West Field Office. “This case represents the impact of close interagency coordination and should serve as a warning that we will seek out and defeat extremist intimidation and hate that threatens access to reproductive health services.”
According to his plea agreement, in February and March of 2022, Brannon and his co-defendants – Tibet Ergul, 22, of Irvine, and Xavier Batten, 21, of Brooksville, Florida – conspired to use a Molotov cocktail to destroy a commercial property. Brannon considered various targets, including the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego, but ultimately chose to target a Planned Parenthood clinic in Costa Mesa to scare pregnant women, deter doctors and staff from providing abortion services, and encourage similar violent acts. During the early morning hours of March 13, 2022, Brannon and Ergul ignited and threw the Molotov cocktail at the clinic, striking the clinic entrance.
Brannon admitted in his plea agreement that, in May 2022, he counseled Batten on how to “get away with” committing a similar attack to the Costa Mesa one. In June 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, its 1973 ruling that recognized a constitutional right to abortion, Brannon and Ergul planned to use a second Molotov cocktail to damage or destroy a second Planned Parenthood clinic.
Brannon further admitted that beginning sometime in 2022 and continuing through the time of their arrests, Ergul and he discussed starting a race war by attacking an electrical substation with the goal of disrupting the functioning of the power grid in Orange County. On a thumb drive disguised as a military-style necklace bearing the motto for the Marine Corps, Brannon kept a file containing an operation plan and a gear list for targeting a Southern California Edison substation. Brannon possessed several items on the gear list, including a specific rifle with “Total [N-word] Death” written in Cyrillic and a recording of the 2019 Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque shooting, in which a white supremacist murdered 51 people and injured 40 others.
Throughout the early summer of 2023, Brannon and Ergul also discussed and researched how to attack Dodger Stadium on a night celebrating LGBTQ pride, including by using a remote-detonated device. As part of those conversations, Brannon shared a “WW2 sabotage manual” with Ergul, discussed doing “dry runs” to “case” the stadium, and conducted research on Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber. Brannon and Ergul were arrested two days before the event.
At the time of his arrest, Brannon possessed a short-barreled rifle and two silencers, which he had not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney scheduled an April 15, 2024 sentencing hearing, at which time Brannon will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison for each of the conspiracy and malicious destruction counts as well as a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each of those counts. The count of possession of an unregistered destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. The intentional damage to a reproductive health facility charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.
Ergul and Batten have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. They are scheduled to go to trial on March 19, 2024.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigated this matter, with substantial assistance from the Costa Mesa Police Department and the Costa Mesa Fire Department.
Assistant United States Attorney Kathrynne N. Seiden of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
Former Southern California Business Owner Charged with Access Device Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Inland Empire resident who was the chief executive officer of an Upland business has been charged with causing unauthorized charges to be placed on thousands of consumer credit and debit card accounts, the Justice Department announced today.
Jason Edward Thomas Cardiff, 48, formerly of Upland, is charged with access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and two counts of witness tampering. A four-count indictment was unsealed Monday at Cardiff’s arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Cardiff, who is currently in federal custody, is scheduled to appear this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff for a continued hearing on the government’s motion to have him detained pending trial.
The indictment alleges that Cardiff owned and operated Redwood Scientific Technologies, which sold various homeopathic thin film strip products to consumers. Between January 2018 and May 2018, Cardiff directed his employees to use the credit and debit card information associated with previous customers to charge for additional products that those customers had not ordered. The indictment further alleges that Cardiff ordered employees to destroy documents that were responsive to a Federal Trade Commission Civil Investigative Demand.
“This indictment alleges a blatant ripoff that simply charged customers for products they never ordered,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “We will remain vigilant to protect consumers from predatory businesses that exploit the trust placed in them by consumers.”
“These charges reflect the department’s commitment to investigate unauthorized charges imposed on consumer accounts and hold criminals accountable for their wrongdoing,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will use all of the tools at its disposal to prosecute such schemes.”
“The outstanding work by postal inspectors in this investigation uncovered a fraud scheme, where American consumers never received the products for which they were billed,” said Inspector in Charge Carroll Harris for the U.S. Postal Inspection Services (USPIS), Los Angeles Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting American consumers from falling victim to these types of fraud schemes.”
At his arraignment on Monday, Cardiff was ordered to stand trial on January 23.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Cardiff would face a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years for access device fraud, 20 years for witness tampering and a mandatory two-year term of imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. A United States District Court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
USPIS is investigating the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Valerie Makarewicz of the Major Frauds Section, along with Justice Department Trial Attorneys Manu Sebastian and Brianna Gardner of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, are prosecuting the case.
Former El Paso Teacher Sentenced to 46 Months in Prison for Child Pornography ChargeRead the Press Release
EL PASO, Texas – A Horizon City man was sentenced in a federal court in El Paso to 46 months in prison for access with intent to view a visual depiction involving the sexual exploitation of a prepubescent minor.
According to court documents, Orlando Solis, 47, began communicating over the social messaging platform “Whisper,” with a user who identified herself as a 13-year old female. The Department of the Army Criminal Investigative Division’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit initiated the investigation and referred the matter to the FBI. The conversations were often sexual in nature, with Solis sending links to pornography sites, describing sexual acts he wanted to engage in with her, and sending graphic photos of himself. He also informed her that he had a “hidden” folder on his phone for pornography.
The FBI determined that Solis was a high school teacher and arrested him on Feb. 2. A forensic examination of his cellphone revealed child sexual abuse material depicting minors as young as five or six years old. Solis pleaded guilty July 25.
“Protecting children from sexual predators will always be a priority of this office and our partners across the district,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “Thanks to the joint investigative efforts of the FBI and Army CID, Solis will no longer pose a threat nor further harm innocent children. Please also take this as a reminder to talk to your children about the legitimate risks of online chat rooms and social messaging apps.”
"The FBI El Paso’s Child Exploitation & Human Trafficking Task Force's mission is to protect our nation's children from adults willing to meet and engage children online with the purpose of engaging in Child Exploitation," said Special Agent in Charge John Morales for the FBI El Paso Field Office. "To that end, we've accomplished the mission by ensuring Solis won't be able to commit a hands-on sexual assault of a child. Please join the FBI’s never-ending effort to keep our children safe by reporting instances of known, or suspected child exploitation at tips.fbi.gov or call 800-CALL-FBI."
“Army CID has a strong relationship with the FBI and continually works together to maximize our jurisdiction and investigate all crimes in and around U.S. Army installations” said Special Agent in Charge Olga Morales for the Army CID Southwest Field Office. “Our Army communities, and the American public, can rest assured that we continually seek out child predators and anyone that would want to do harm to members of our communities, on and off our installations.”
The FBI and Army CID investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Valenzuela 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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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Former City Commissioner Sentenced for Role in Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A former Weslaco, Texas, city commissioner was sentenced today to two years and six months in prison for his role in a bribery conspiracy that involved city contracts worth tens of millions of dollars.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gerardo Tafolla, 57, along with former Weslaco City commissioner John F. Cuellar, accepted bribes from Arturo C. Cuellar Jr., Ricardo Quintanilla, and others in exchange for official action favorable to engineering companies seeking large contracts with the city. From approximately March 2008 through December 2015, one of the participants in the scheme received approximately $4.1 million from two engineering companies and shared nearly $1.4 million with Arturo Cuellar, a former Hidalgo County commissioner. Arturo Cuellar then used a company he controlled to facilitate the payment of approximately $405,000 in bribes to his cousin, John Cuellar, which were disguised as legitimate legal expenses. In exchange for these payments, John Cuellar took several official actions to benefit the companies, including helping to award contracts worth approximately $38.5 million to rehabilitate Weslaco’s water treatment facilities. Quintanilla received approximately $85,000 during the course of the scheme and used that money to pay cash bribes to Tafolla for his official actions to benefit the companies that received the water treatment plant contracts.
In October 2022, a jury convicted Arturo Cuellar and Quintanilla for their roles in the bribery conspiracy. Arturo Cuellar was later sentenced to 20 years in prison and Quintanilla was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison. John Cuellar was sentenced to three years in prison after previously pleading guilty in August 2019. Tafolla pleaded guilty in April 2019 to federal program bribery.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Houston Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI San Antonio Field Office and IRS-CI Houston Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney William J. Gullotta and Acting Deputy Chief Marco A. Palmieri of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section (PIN) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Lopez Jr. for the Southern District of Texas prosecuted the case. Trial Attorney Peter M. Nothstein and former PIN Trial Attorneys Erica O’Brien Waymack and Jessica C. Harvey provided valuable assistance.
Former California Business Owner Charged with Access Device Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft and Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
An indictment was unsealed on Monday alleging that the chief executive officer of a California business caused unauthorized charges to be placed on thousands of consumer credit and debit card accounts.
Jason Edward Thomas Cardiff, 48, formerly of Upland, California, is charged with access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and two counts of witness tampering. The indictment alleges that Cardiff owned and operated Redwood Scientific Technologies, which sold various homeopathic thin film strip products to consumers. Between January 2018 and May 2018, Cardiff directed his employees to use the credit and debit card information associated with previous customers to charge for additional products that those customers had not ordered. The indictment further alleges that Cardiff ordered employees to destroy documents that were responsive to a Federal Trade Commission Civil Investigative Demand.
“These charges reflect the department’s commitment to investigate unauthorized charges imposed on consumer accounts and hold criminals accountable for their wrongdoing,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will use all of the tools at its disposal to prosecute such schemes.”
“This indictment alleges a blatant ripoff that simply charged customers for products they never ordered,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “We will remain vigilant to protect consumers from predatory businesses that exploit the trust placed in them by consumers.”
“The outstanding work by postal inspectors in this investigation uncovered a fraud scheme, where American consumers never received the products for which they were billed,” said Inspector in Charge Carroll Harris of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Los Angeles Division. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting American consumers from falling victim to these types of fraud schemes.”
Cardiff made his initial court appearance on Nov. 27 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. If convicted, Cardiff faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for access device fraud, 20 years in prison for witness tampering and a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. At his arraignment on Monday, Cardiff entered a not guilty plea and a trial was scheduled for Jan. 23, 2024.
USPIS is investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Manu Sebastian and Brianna Gardner of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Valerie Makarewicz for the Central District of California, are prosecuting the case.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Bixby Gun Store Owner Sentenced in Federal CourtRead the Press Release
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell, sentenced Jeffery David Sutton, 55, to 157 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In Oct. 2022, Sutton was convicted by a federal jury for carrying, using, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and assault with dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm in Indian Country. Judge Frizzell further ordered Sutton to pay $5,000 in restitution.
In Dec. 2021, Sutton got into an argument with his girlfriend, whom he told to move out of his house. The girlfriend moved her things out the next day and was waiting for a ride to pick her up. Sutton changed his mind, returned home and the parties argued in the front yard. Sutton then went to his truck, pulled a handgun and started shooting at his girlfriend.
He fired at least eight times toward her. Multiple bullets hit the doorway she was standing in, and one hit her in the chest. While Sutton was shooting at her, he stated he was going to kill her, as well as her family.
Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department was the first to respond to the scene and found Sutton in the front lawn, with an empty firearm and he was taken into custody. Law enforcement personnel applied pressure to the victim’s wound. She was transported to the hospital, treated, and later released from the hospital.
Court records show that Sutton was the owner of a Bixby gun store and trained in handling firearms. He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.
The FBI, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven J. Briden and Kristin F. Harrington prosecuted the case.
Former Airline Representatives Admit Roles in Bribery ConspiracyRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A former airline corporate real estate director and former airline senior manager, as well as a former airline contractor, each admitted accepting bribes from a company in exchange for agreeing to assist the company obtain contracts from the airline, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Alok Saksena, 45, of Montclair, New Jersey, Anthony Rosalli, 44, of Burlington, New Jersey, and Lovella Rogan, 48, of Springfield, New Jersey each pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in Trenton federal court to informations that charged them with conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud.
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger“The defendants compromised their positions by accepting bribes in the form of hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of home renovations, electronics, and jewelry. Commercial bribery of this kind corrupts the fairness of our economic system. We will hold to account those who unlawfully violate their duties to further their own economic interests.”
“Federal law requires an honest bidding process because if everyone in a position of authority demanded goods and services for their approval, the cost of doing business would be astronomical and untenable,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “These individuals admit to taking bribes in the form of home renovations, electronics and jewelry instead of money, thinking no one would notice. Greasing someone's palm for a lucrative contract not only isn't fair, but it's also illegal.”
“The Port Authority thanks our federal partners for the collaborative work to ensure fairness within the myriad industries that operate out of our facilities and to bring these individuals to justice,” Port Authority Inspector General John Gay said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Rosalli, Saksena, and Rogan all held positions with the airline that enabled them to influence which companies the airline would award certain contracts to at Newark Liberty International Airport (Newark Airport). The defendants conspired to receive bribes and kickbacks from a company that provided maintenance and construction services in exchange for helping that company obtain lucrative airline contracts at Newark Airport.
In September 2021, the maintenance and construction company bid on a contract to renovate restrooms at Newark Airport. The defendants sat on the selection committee and each of them voted to award the contract to the company. In exchange for the defendants’ help in obtaining the restroom renovation contract and with the expectation that they would use their positions to help the company obtain future contracts, the company agreed to pay for significant renovations at the defendants’ personal residences, including renovating and building bathrooms, renovating a deck, installing floors and sheetrock, and renovating a kitchen. The company gave the defendants valuable items, including electronics and jewelry. The total value of the bribes paid was approximately $539,000 to Saksena; approximately $276,000 to Rosalli; and approximately $409,000 to Rogan.
The defendants also conspired with an employee of the maintenance and construction company to fraudulently inflate change orders, which amended the contract’s scope of work, to recoup some of the bribe costs. With the defendants’ knowledge and consent, the company submitted change orders, which contained fraudulently high numbers, to obtain money not legitimately earned by the company so that the company could partially fund the bribe payments to the defendants.
The defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing for Saksena is scheduled for April 17, 2024. Sentencing for Rosalli and Rogan is scheduled for April 18, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Dennehy in Newark, investigators from the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Inspector General Gay, and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to the guilty pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Calle and Francesca Liquori of the Special Prosecutions Division and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna.
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rogan.information.pdfForeign National Convicted of Drug Trafficking ConspiracyRead the Press Release
A federal jury in the District of Columbia convicted a national of the Dominican Republic yesterday of a felony drug trafficking conspiracy.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Cesar Gomez Almonte, aka Jhonny Gomez and Johnny Gomez, 51, was a member of a drug trafficking network based in the Dominican Republic. The network facilitated the transportation of multi-hundred-kilogram shipments of cocaine by boat from the Caribbean to the United States. The drug trafficking network insulated itself by compartmentalizing operations and covering up true ownership of the boats used to transport cocaine. Gomez Almonte’s role within the organization was to search for and acquire new boats the network could use for future drug ventures, to coordinate the straw transfer of a boat used in a prior drug venture, and to broker the use of a boat for a cocaine shipment knowing that the cocaine was bound for the United States.
On Dec. 12, 2020, Gomez Almonte was arrested in the Miami International Airport.
The jury convicted Gomez Almonte of conspiracy to import five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 20, 2024, and faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of life 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 and Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York made the announcement.
The case is supported by the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF).
HSI New York investigated the case.
Acting Assistant Deputy Chief Melanie L. Alsworth and Trial Attorneys Samantha Thompson and Janet H. Turnbull of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Customs and Border Protection’s Miami Air and Marine Branch also provided significant assistance.
Floyd County Man Sentenced to 120 Months for Armed Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
LEXINGTON, Ky.— An Auxier, Ky., man, Jonathan Martinez, 37, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison on Tuesday, by U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell, for conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
According to his plea agreement, from April 26, 2022 through May 5, 2022, Martinez distributed methamphetamine and possessed a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Specifically, law enforcement utilized a confidential informant to make a series of controlled drug purchases of methamphetamine from Martinez and his co-defendant, Lakeisha Jervis. On May 5, 2022, law enforcement conducted a search of Martinez’s home and found 264 grams of methamphetamine, bagged into ounce-and-a-half quantities, a digital scale, plastic bags, various other controlled substances, and a loaded firearm.
Under federal law, Martinez must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence; and upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for five years.
Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Michael E. Stansbury, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office; and Phillip J. Burnett, Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police (KSP), jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI and KSP. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Eastern District of Kentucky, U.S. Attorney Shier coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
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Florida Promoter of Tax Fraud Scheme Sentenced to More Than Two Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
A Florida man was sentenced today to 27 months in prison for promoting a scheme to file false documents with the IRS to fraudulently obtain large tax refunds.
Rafael Ramos, of Orlando, pleaded guilty on Sept. 5 to conspiring to defraud the United States, filing a false tax return, and aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. According to court documents and statements made in court, Ramos recruited clients and prepared tax returns on their behalf that falsely claimed banks and other financial institutions had withheld large amounts of taxes from the clients’ incomes, thereby entitling them to refunds from the IRS. To further the scheme, Ramos and his co-conspirators filed with the IRS false documents purporting to have been issued by banks to support the false withholding information reported on the returns.
When the IRS initiated proceedings to collect the fraudulently-issued refunds, Ramos held meetings with his clients and attempted to obstruct the IRS’s efforts by providing clients with frivolous correspondence to send to the IRS, instructing clients to falsely inform the IRS that they self-prepared their returns, and telling clients to move funds out of their bank accounts to avoid IRS levies. In total, Ramos’s scheme caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $1.15 million.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron ordered Ramos to serve two years of supervised release and to pay approximately $594,685 in restitution to the United States.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida and Tara K. Reed IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Acting Special Agent in Charge made the announcement.
IRS-CI investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Jeffrey McLellan, Ezra Spiro and Caroline Pearson of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Florida Medical Clinic Owner and Pharmacy Technician Sentenced to Prison in Clinical Trial Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal judge sentenced a medical clinic owner and a pharmacy technician for their involvement in a clinical trial fraud scheme that included the falsification and fabrication of clinical trial data, the Justice Department announced.
Miguel Angel Montalvo Villa, 53, of Miami, and Ivette Maria Portela Martinez, 53, also of Miami, were convicted by a jury on Sept. 5 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. Montalvo Villa also was convicted of making a false statement to a regulatory investigator with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Nov. 30, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore sentenced Montalvo Villa to 71 months in prison and Portela Martinez to 46 months in prison.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Montalvo Villa was a co-owner, president and CEO of AMB Research Center Inc. (AMB), a medical clinic located in Miami that conducted clinical trials of new drugs for pharmaceutical companies and sponsors. Portela Martinez was an employee who served as recruiter, site manager, data entry specialist and pharmacist. The evidence showed that Montalvo Villa and Portela Martinez used the names and personal information of individuals without their knowledge or consent and listed them as enrolled subjects in a clinical trial for a drug that was being developed to treat Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD), a moderate to severe form of diarrhea. The trial evidence further showed that the defendants enlisted and used the names of family members and friends who purportedly participated as eligible subjects in the CDAD clinical trial – but no subject fully participated in that clinical trial, as required by the protocol.
The trial evidence showed that Montalvo Villa and Portela Martinez falsified, at a minimum, hundreds of pages of documents and entered that information and data into the clinical trial’s electronic databases to make it appear as though the purported clinical trial subjects were fully participating in the clinical trial. The trial evidence also showed that as part of the conspiracy, Montalvo Villa submitted falsified and fraudulent invoices for AMB to receive payments for conducting the clinical trial that totaled $277,920.
“Accurate clinical trial data is critical to the evaluation of new drug treatments,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work closely with its agency and law enforcement partners to uncover and prosecute clinical trial fraud.”
“The cornerstone of FDA’s evaluation of a new drug is reliable and accurate data from clinical trials,” said FDA Assistant Commissioner Justin D. Green of Criminal Investigations. “Compromised clinical trial data could impact the agency’s decisions about the safety and effectiveness of the drug under review. We will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those whose actions may subvert the FDA approval process and endanger the public health.”
The FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office, investigated the case.
The Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida provided critical assistance.
Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, visit www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Five persons sentenced to federal prison in international drug and money laundering operationRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Jason Arias, Daniel Newton, Anthony Blair, David Barros, Shondra Vernon, and Madison Rene Kelleher have been sentenced for their participation in a conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States from the Dominican Republic in the checked baggage of airline travelers.
“These defendants exploited our country’s airline carriers to carry out a large-scale drug trafficking operation,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “For several years, the defendants imported a great deal of cocaine into the United States but eventually were arrested and prosecuted thanks to the diligent work of our federal and local law enforcement partners.”
“Anthony Blair orchestrated a drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute cocaine in the United States, destroying communities and putting countless lives at risk,” said Acting Special Agent in charge Travis Pickard who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in Georgia and Alabama. “This sentence is the culmination of a great investigation executed by HSI and its partners and its success is directly related to their hard work and professionalism. We will continue to exhaust all resources and use all of our available assets to pursue those criminals and organizations involved in bringing poison into our communities.”
“Customs and Border Protection officers work side by side with our law enforcement partners to keep dangerous drugs from reaching our communities,” said Zachary Thomas, CBP Area Port Director Atlanta. “Narcotics interdiction remains an enforcement priority for CBP, and it is one of the many ways CBP helps protect our citizens and the public.”
Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division stated, “Through hard work, this illegal drug distribution and money laundering network has been removed from our streets. This criminal enterprise had no regard for the potential impact of their actions.”
“Anytime law enforcement agencies work together to stop illegal activities, it is a win for communities locally, nationally, and internationally,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “The conviction of this group proves the effectiveness of our law enforcement partnerships, the dedication of the members of the various agencies that protect the world’s busiest airport, and our commitment to bringing criminals to justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately 2015 through June of 2018, these defendants and members of their conspiracy obtained cocaine in Costa Rica, concealed the drugs in sealed cans labeled as food, and smuggled the contraband into the United States in checked luggage. Jason Arias obtained and packaged the cocaine in Costa Rica. Anthony Blair then recruited over 60 travelers in Atlanta to agree to an “all-expenses paid” vacation to Costa Rica to assist with the transport of the drugs into the United States.
As a part of the scheme, the recruited travelers, when ready to depart Costa Rica, met with Arias who arranged for the travelers to bring purported souvenirs to Blair and others in the United States. In fact, the souvenirs included sealed cans containing kilograms of cocaine. After the cocaine was sold, profits were reinvested in the enterprise, smuggled back to Costa Rica, and spent to support the defendants’ extravagant lifestyles, including the rental of a $14,000 per month Atlanta-area apartment.
In total, the organization imported more than 150 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. The conspiracy unraveled when U.S. Customs and Border Protection special agents located cocaine in the luggage of two travelers and arrested Blair when he arrived to meet the travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The following defendants have been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May for their respective roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy:
- Anthony Blair, 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to 20 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $434,195 in drug profits to the United States. Blair was convicted of multiple narcotics and money laundering offenses following a jury trial on May 23, 2023.
- David Barros, 37, of Taunton, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Barros was convicted of multiple narcotics and money laundering offenses following a jury trial on May 23, 2023.
- Jason Arias, 39, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Arias was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering on August 10, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.
- Daniel Newton a/k/a “Russia,” 34, of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to one year and one month in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Newton was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering on September 12, 2019, after he pleaded guilty.
- Shondra Vernon a/k/a “Frenchie,” 34, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. Vernon was convicted of conspiracy to import cocaine on November 9, 2021, after she pleaded guilty.
- Madison Rene Kelleher, 32, of Fall River, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to three years of probation. Kelleher was convicted of money laundering conspiracy on November 19, 2019, after she pleaded guilty.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Atlanta Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tyler A. Mann and Calvin A. Leipold III prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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.
Five defendants convicted of health care kickback conspiracyRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas – Five defendants, including laboratory executives and hospital executives, were found guilty of conspiring to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.
Susan L. Hertzberg, 65, of New York, New York; Matthew John Theiler, 57, of Mars, Pennsylvania; David Weldon Kraus, 65, of Loudon, Tennessee; Thomas Gray Hardaway, 51 of San Antonio, Texas; and Jeffrey Paul Madison, 48, Georgetown, Texas, were found guilty by a jury on November 30, 2023, following a seven-week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle.
“Patients should be able to trust that their physicians are ordering tests and making laboratory referrals based on what is best for the patient, and not because the physicians are looking to pad their pockets with profits from kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. “For several years, these defendants utilized an elaborate marketing scheme to facilitate payments to physicians in return for the physicians’ laboratory referrals. Improper financial relationships such as these undermine the integrity of federally-funded healthcare programs by influencing physician decision-making. This case emphasizes our District’s commitment to justice by pursuing both the hospital and lab executives who sought to influence the physicians and the physicians who accepted the illegal kickbacks.”
“The reach of HHS-OIG is far and wide. Our agents and law enforcement partners will not be deterred by the scope of a health care fraud investigation or the location of its’ defendants,” said Jason E. Meadows, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Dallas Region. “Kickback arrangements, regardless of their intended complexity, will always be an investigative priority for our agency.”
“The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to protecting the integrity of TRICARE, the health care system for military members and their dependents,” said Gregory P. Shilling, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of DCIS’s Southwest Field Office. “Today's guilty verdicts send a clear message that DCIS, along with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will diligently pursue fraudsters who seek self-enrichment by undermining the integrity of this critical program.”
On January 12, 2022, Hertzberg, Theiler, Kraus, Hardaway, and Madison, as well as Jeffrey Paul Parnell, 55, of Tyler; Laura Spain Howard, 49, of Allen; Todd Dean Cook, 58, Wimauma, Florida; William Todd Hickman, 60, of Lumberton; Christopher Roland Gonzales, 47, of McKinney; Ruben Daniel Marioni, 39, of Spring; Jordan Joseph Perkins, 39, of Conroe; Elizabeth Ruth Seymour, 40, of Corinth; Linh Ba Nguyen, 59, of Dallas; Thuy Ngoc Nguyen, 55, of Dallas; Joseph Gil Bolin, of Dallas; Heriberto Salinas, 63, of Cleburne; and Hong Davis, 55, of Lewisville, were indicted for conspiring to commit illegal remunerations in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting, or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs. The defendants were charged for their roles in a conspiracy through which physicians were incentivized to make referrals to rural hospitals and an affiliated lab in exchange for kickbacks which were disguised as investment returns; and in which marketers were incentivized to arrange for or recommend the ordering of services from rural hospitals and an affiliated lab.
Two rural Texas hospitals, Little River Healthcare (LRH) based in Rockdale, and Stamford Memorial Hospital based in Stamford, partnered with Boston Heart Diagnostics (BHD), a clinical laboratory based in Framingham, Massachusetts, that specialized in advanced cardiovascular lipid testing. For a fee, BHD processed the blood tests while the hospitals billed the tests to insurers as hospital outpatient services, with the hospitals charging insurers a much higher rate than BHD could receive as a clinical laboratory. The hospitals utilized a network of marketers who in turn operated management services organizations (MSOs) that offered investment opportunities to physicians throughout the State of Texas. In reality, the MSOs were simply a means to facilitate payments to physicians in return for the physicians’ laboratory referrals. Pursuant to the kickback scheme, the hospitals paid a portion of their laboratory revenues to marketers, who in turn kicked back a portion of those funds to the referring physicians who ordered BHD tests from the hospitals or from BHD directly. BHD executives and sales force personnel leveraged the MSO kickbacks to gain and increase referrals and, in turn, to increase their revenues, bonuses, and commissions.
Parnell, Howard, Cook, Hickman, Gonzales, Marioni, Perkins, Seymour, Thuy Nguyen, Salinas, and Davis pleaded guilty prior to trial.
In January 2022, Robert O’Neal, 65, of San Antonio, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit illegal remunerations, in violation of Anti-Kickback Statute, and with conspiracy to commit money laundering. His role in the kickback conspiracy was to arrange for physician referrals and recommend the ordering of services to the rural hospitals and BHD. O’Neal also had kickback proceeds laundered on his behalf and, at times various times, obtained proceeds from the kickback conspiracy.
In July 2023, Peter J. Bennett, 49, of Houston, was convicted of money laundering conspiracy, money transmitting conspiracy, and perjury. According to information presented in court, Bennett created sham trusts and shell corporations through which he laundered at least $2,724,080.41 in healthcare kickback proceeds. Bennett used his law firm’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA), operating account, and a personal bank account to launder and transmit the kickback proceeds.
The defendants face up to five years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Defense – Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce - Export Enforcement. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adrian Garcia, Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld, Lucas Machicek, and Robert Austin Wells.
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Fitchburg Man Sentenced to 56 Months for Illegal Gun PossessionRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Wayne Nance, Jr. (a.k.a., Wayne Evangelista), 44, Fitchburg, Wisconsin was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 56 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Nance pleaded guilty to this charge on January 6, 2023.
In the spring of 2022, two citizen witnesses reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that Nance was committing gun crimes. The witnesses both met Nance at an area shooting range and he falsely claimed that he had a federal firearms license (FFL), saying that he had law enforcement letters that allowed him to legally manufacture machine guns and suppressors, also known as silencers. The witnesses both initially believed Nance and assisted him in making and testing firearms suppressors. However, they soon began to doubt his story when one learned that Nance’s purported firearms license was actually registered to a different business in another state.
On May 4, 2022, ATF agents executed a search warrant at Nance’s residence in Fitchburg, and they found two 9mm handguns in Nance’s bedroom. In a basement workshop, agents found tools and supplies to manufacture firearms and suppressors, the fraudulent FFL, illegal suppressors, and 22 firearms.
In 2014 Nance was convicted in the District of Connecticut of illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. In that case he was sentenced to 63 months in prison.
At sentencing, Judge Conley found that Nance had an extensive criminal history with a longstanding pattern of fraud, manipulation, and firearms possession. Judge Conley said that after serving his previous federal firearms sentence, Nance started to accumulate guns, joined a local gun club, and began manufacturing and test firing suppressors. Judge Conley concluded by saying that Nance had a hardened and cynical mindset. Nance was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
The charge against Nance was the result of an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution of the case has been handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan.
This case has been brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the U.S. Justice Department’s program to reduce violent crime. The PSN approach emphasizes coordination between state and federal prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement to address gun crime, especially felons illegally possessing firearms and ammunition and violent and drug crimes that involve the use of firearms.
Final smuggler sentenced for stealing and selling people and for scheme resulting in deathRead the Press Release
McALLEN, Texas – The final man involved in a fatal smuggling conspiracy has been ordered to federal prison for two separate smuggling events that occurred just weeks apart, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Orlando Andres Garcia, 24, Mission, pleaded guilty to human smuggling resulting in death and conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens within the United States Feb. 3, and Nov. 29, 2022, respectively.
U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez has now ordered Garcia to serve 120 months for the conspiracy to harbor in addition to 151 months for the smuggling event resulting in death. The sentences will be served in part consecutively for a total of 251 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
At the hearing, the court heard how Garcia had been communicating with the other driver in the fatal smuggling event and encouraged him to reach dangerous speeds. Judge Alvarez also considered the life-altering and permanent injuries the survivors sustained in the accident and that Garcia was involved in stealing people and holding them for ransom a mere 18 days after the fatal accident.
In handing down the sentences, Judge Alvarez considered how the smugglers utilized multiple weapons, including firearms and a machete, further noting Garcia’s disregard for the well-being of the migrants and emphasizing the repetitiveness of his smuggling and the effects and harm his conduct has had on the victims and their families.
“Garcia trafficked in humans, not caring about the multiple lives he destroyed,” said Hamdani. “His actions led to the death of three migrants and to the kidnapping of nearly 50 at gunpoint. He saw migrants not as human beings but as property to buy and sell. Now, the only property he can buy or sell for years to come is what he can find in the prison’s commissary.”
“The fact that this unscrupulous smuggler put lives in danger to support his criminal activity is reprehensible. Today, justice was served,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Antonio. “These deaths could have been prevented were it not for this individual’s concern more for his own greed rather than the safety of others. HSI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners and utilizing our unique investigative authorities to bring to justice those responsible for horrible tragedies like this.”
On Oct. 22, 2021, Brandon Cibriano-Gonzalez acted as a brush guide to smuggle a group of 10 non-U.S. citizens from Mexico into the United States. Francisco Javier Quintanilla-Alcocer and Garcia then picked them up and began to drive them in a Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet Malibu, respectively. Law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but both vehicles failed to yield and a high-speed chase ensued. Evidence showed that Garcia had been communicating with Quintanilla-Alcocer and telling him to go faster. They reached speeds of 130 miles per hour.
Quintanilla-Alcocer eventually turned onto a dirt road in Mission where the Impala rolled and crashed into a homeowner’s fence. Authorities located a total of seven individuals on scene. Three had been ejected, two of whom died at the scene. Three months following the crash, a third migrant succumbed to his injuries.
Just a couple weeks after this event, Garcia was involved in another smuggling scheme and holding people for ransom. On Nov. 9, 2021, several conspirators had arrived at a stash house, screamed “immigration” and directed 47 fleeing individuals to multiple vehicles staged outside the residence. They then transported them in the backseats and trunks of vehicles to multiple residences before being transported once again.
While held at the stash houses, conspirators possessed and brandished firearms and contacted the families for additional funds to facilitate transportation north. Garcia also used the aliens as payment to co-conspirators for their assistance in the stealing the aliens. But when they were unable to secure monies for some of the aliens, several conspirators sold them to members of a third alien smuggling organization.
12 others have been convicted in relation to this scheme and received sentences of up to 80 months.
Mexican nationals Quintanilla-Alcocer, 39, and Cibriano-Gonzalez, 22, also pleaded guilty in the case resulting in death and have also been sentenced.
HSI led the investigations of both cases. Border Patrol, Palmview Police Department, and Texas Department of Public Safety assisted with the case resulting in death. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Fry and Devin Walker prosecuted the cases.
Felon Sentenced for Illegally Possessing Stolen Firearms and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Jerime Montoya, 29, of Salt Lake County, Utah, was sentenced today to 60 months’ imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to being a previously convicted felon in possession of stolen firearms and ammunition.
According to court documents, and admissions made during his change of plea hearing, Mr. Montoya possessed a Springfield Arms Co. AR-15 rifle, a Taurus G3c 9mm handgun, a Walther PPS M2 LE edition 9mm handgun, and ammunition. Montoya admitted that he knew it was illegal for him to possess firearms after a previous felony conviction. He also admitted that he knew the firearms were stolen because he stole them from their lawful owners. The firearms were manufactured outside of Utah, and then traveled to Utah in interstate commerce.
U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Ruth Hackford-Peer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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.
Federal Jury Convicts Rexburg Man of Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft for Stealing from a Construction PartnershipRead the Press Release
POCATELLO – A federal jury found Kelly McCandless, 52, of Rexburg, guilty of four counts of wire fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft after a six-day trial, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. The evidence established that McCandless defrauded his partners in a construction project out of nearly $500,000.
According to court records, in 2017, three individuals formed a partnership with the goal of putting their respective resources and skills together to build a 96-bed student housing property in Rexburg, Idaho. McCandless was one of those three individuals. His contribution was to build the property, using a loan secured by the partnership, at cost. In exchange for his efforts, he would be entitled to 24.5% of the building equity and all future proceeds.
Over the course of the next year, however, and beginning with the very first bank withdrawal, McCandless falsified subcontractor invoices, bank withdrawal requests, and unlawfully used subcontractors’ signatures to withdraw loan proceeds from the bank at a higher amount than what was invoiced to build the project. The bank relied on those documents and wired McCandless the proceeds from the loan. McCandless continued this scheme to the tune of nearly $500,000 and used the money to purchase personal items like a brand-new pickup truck, several snow mobiles, several dirt bikes, toy haulers, a Jeep, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, $5,000 in dental work, vacations, etc.
Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye accepted the jury’s verdict on November 29, 2023, and scheduled McCandless to be sentenced on March 26, 2024, at 11:00 am at the federal courthouse in Pocatello. McCandless faces a mandatory minimum of two, and up to twenty years in federal prison.
“The defendant defrauded partners who put their trust in him and spent the funds he stole on a lifestyle he could not legitimately afford,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “We will not tolerate this illegal conduct, which truly harms victims and threatens our local economies. I’m grateful for the FBI’s hard work in this case, and we thank the jury for its service.”
“Mr. McCandless betrayed his partners’ trust, and like most fraudsters, he was simply motivated by greed,” said Shohini Sinha, Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Financial fraud has far-reaching consequences, and the FBI and our partners will continue to hold those who engage in these types of schemes accountable.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Morse and John Shirts prosecuted this case.
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Fake car loans and payroll scams send fraudulent College Station pastor to prisonRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 61-year-old man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
William Dexter Lucas pleaded guilty Dec. 8, 2022, for his role in orchestrating a scheme to steal funds from the Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) and various car dealerships by faking forms to obtain car loans.
U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge has now ordered Lucas to serve 97 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $286,359.14 in restitution to the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the victimized car dealerships.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Eskridge noted the lengths Lucas had gone to steal from his victims, including forging multiple documents and manipulating potential witnesses against him. The court also heard additional evidence describing Lucas’ lengthy criminal history and refusal to acknowledge portions of his guilt.
“William Dexter Lucas, a con man who worked several schemes at once, cloaked himself in the robes of a fake church so he could defraud local businesses and steal from taxpayers,” said Hamdani. “And he stole not to give to the poor, but to line his own pockets with money meant to help those struggling with the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully the law has caught up to William Lucas, giving have ample time to think over his past sins as he sits in a prison cell.”
At the time of the plea, Lucas admitted conspiring with several others to defraud car dealerships and the U.S. government from on or around 2017 to 2020. To facilitate his scheme, Lucas set up and claimed to operate the “Jesus Survives Ministry,” a church existing only on paper.
Upholding the title of “pastor” of the non-existent church, Lucas applied for a $50,000 PPP loan to cover the fictitious payroll needs. Additionally, using one of roughly 20 different known aliases, Lucas applied for multiple car loans by submitting various fraudulent forms and financial statements.
In total, the scheme cost the SBA and various car dealerships across the country over $400,000 in losses, leaving U.S. taxpayers to fund his fraud.
When authorities began investigating Lucas’s crimes, he attempted to cover them up by filing false claims of stolen identity with the Federal Trade Commission.
Previously released on bond, he was ordered into custody following the sentencing today where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the SBA and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Thomas Carter and former AUSA Zahra Fenelon prosecuted the case.
Fairbanks man arrested on child pornography, enticement of minor chargesRead the Press Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Fairbanks man was arrested by the FBI Tuesday at an Anchorage hotel on criminal charges related to his alleged attempts to produce child pornography and entice a minor.
According to court documents, Dahkota Mitchell, 30, started communicating with and attempting to meet an individual that he believed was a 12-year-old girl on July 7, 2023. The conversation lasted for multiple months. The defendant used an online messaging application where he directed the individual to send explicit content, and discussed meeting in person and sexual interactions that would occur if they met in person.
Mitchell is charged with one count attempted production of child pornography, in violation 18 U.S.C. §2251(a), one count attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §2251(b), and one count of possession for child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B), (b)(2). If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office is investigating the case. If anyone has information concerning Mitchell’s alleged actions or may have encountered someone using the username “daxter1495” or screenname “Dahkota Mitchell” on an online messaging app, please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously online at tips.fbi.gov.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carly Vosacek and Jennifer Ivers are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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East Feliciana Parish Man Pleads Guilty to Wire FraudRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – CLARENCE “BILLY” BURKETTE, age 55, a resident of Slaughter, Louisiana, pleaded guilty on November 9, 2023, to wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to his guilty plea, BURKETTE admitted to defrauding the Town of Pearl River in connection with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Program. This program provides grants for state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, and certain types of non-profits, and is administered by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP). BURKETTE, who contracted to provide disaster assistance services to the Town of Pearl River, misrepresented, among other things, the amount of public assistance grant funds available to the Town of Pearl River. BURKETTE further misrepresented that his own fees would be reimbursed by FEMA. The Town of Pearl River paid BURKETTE $185,200 for services related to the Disaster Assistance Agreement that he falsely claimed to have provided.
BURKETTE faces a maximum sentence of thirty years in prison. After imprisonment, he faces up to five years of supervised release, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. Pursuant to the plea agreement, BURKETTE will also owe the Town of Pearl $598,196.25 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Evans commended the Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the District Attorney’s Office, 22nd Judicial District, for their handling of the matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Andre J. Lagarde of the Public Integrity Unit and J. Benjamin Myers of the Narcotics Unit.
Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday has sentenced Uriel Rosales Carvajal (34, Polk County) to seven years and three months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. Rosales Carvajal had pleaded guilty on August 9, 2023.
According to court documents, Rosales Carvajal was part of a drug trafficking conspiracy in the Middle District of Florida. Specifically, on June 13, 2022, at the direction of a co-conspirator, Rosales Carvajal provided a sample of cocaine to an undercover officer at gas station in Plant City. When Rosales Carvajal was pulled over by law enforcement later that day, he had almost one a kilogram of cocaine, a box for a cellphone containing approximately 135 grams of methamphetamine, plastic baggies, and a digital scale.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Plant City Police Department as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Kenneth.
Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Dominican National Sentenced to Federal Prison for Passport Fraud and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Orlando, FL – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Yudelka Magdalena Herrera Dominguez (57, Kissimmee) to two years in federal prison for passport fraud and aggravated identity theft. Herrera Dominguez had pleaded guilty on August 23, 2023.
According to court documents, Herrera Dominguez is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who moved to the United States in approximately 2000. She applied for and was issued a United States Passport in 2001 and 2011. In her passport application, she used the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of W.L.D.C., whom she had never met. In March 2021, the real W.L.D.C. applied for a United States Passport and discovered that an imposter had already applied for a passport in her name. Herrera Dominguez also applied for a passport renewal in W.L.D.C.’s name in September 2022, which was denied.
This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Consular Affairs and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Lyons.
District Man Sentenced to 42-Month Prison Term for BurglaryRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Marcus Hawkins, 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 42-month prison term for burglarizing a home located in the 400 block of Florida Avenue, NW, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Hawkins pleaded guilty in June 2023 to one count of second-degree burglary in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Erik Christian. Following his prison term, Hawkins will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Hawkins broke into the Florida Avenue residence around midnight on June 15, 2023. He stole several items from the home, including Sony over-ear headphones, a debit card, and a computer backpack. He used the debit card in a nearby convenience store then returned to the same residence, entered a bedroom where a resident was sleeping, and fled from the home only after the victim woke up and shouted at Hawkins. Members of the Metropolitan Police Department used footage from the convenience store to identify the suspect, and a patrol officer spotted Hawkins two days later wearing the stolen backpack.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos A. Valdivia.
Des Moines Man Sentenced to Federal Prison After Pointing a Gun at Police Following a Car ChaseRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced on November 16, 2023 to 13-and-a-half years in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon.
According to public court documents, Fawnie Allen Avery, 36, was on parole with the State of Iowa when he led officers with the Des Moines Police Department on a nighttime chase through residential neighborhoods after law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop of his vehicle. Avery crashed his vehicle, climbed out of his window, and attempted to flee on foot. A uniformed officer attempted to apprehend him. Avery struggled against the officer and pulled a firearm from his waistband. Avery pointed his firearm at a plain clothes officer and chambered a round in the firearm. Police were able to subdue Avery when a third officer arrived on scene.
At sentencing, the District Court found that two Des Moines Police officers were victims of Avery’s offense because Avery pulled his gun during the struggle leading to his arrest, pointed his gun at an officer, and chambered a round in his gun. The Court also found that Avery recklessly created a substantial risk of injury or death during the vehicle chase prior to his arrest.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department.
Dallas Man Indicted for Alleged Smuggling Attempt of 187 Firearms into MexicoRead the Press Release
DEL RIO, Texas – A Dallas man was indicted in a federal court in Del Rio with four counts related to smuggling firearms into Mexico from the United States.
According to court documents, Santiago Ramirez, 26, was subjected to a vehicle inspection at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry in the early morning of Oct. 30. Customs and Border Protection Officers noticed that the interior sidewall of the trailer Ramirez was hauling appeared to have been altered. Further inspection allegedly revealed 187 firearms wrapped in cellophane and hidden in the trailer’s wall.
Ramirez made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Matthew H. Watters on Oct. 31. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic firearms; one count of trafficking firearms; one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States; and one count of smuggling goods from the United States. If convicted, Ramirez faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for each of the two charges related to trafficking firearms. The smuggling of goods conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, while the remaining smuggling of goods count could result in up to 10 years imprisonment. All four counts also carry fines of up to $250,000 each. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement.
ATF is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Garland and Zachary Bird are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Convicted Felon Is Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms on Three Separate OccasionsRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Quincy Dushawn McWaine, 26, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 82 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Alicia Jones, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to information contained in court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, between July 2021 and June 2022, McWaine illegally possessed firearms on three separate occasions. Specifically, court documents show that on July 2, 2021, CMPD officers were dispatched on a service call for an alleged assault with a deadly weapon. Responding officers approached McWaine to question him in connection with the incident and observed a firearm sticking out of the defendant’s pant pocket. McWaine was arrested and officers removed two firearms from the defendant’s pockets, one of which had been reported stolen. In addition to the firearms, officers also seized from the vehicle digital scales, marijuana, more than $25,000 in cash, and a Glock magazine.
According to court records, the second incident occurred on December 10, 2021, while CMPD officers were investigating McWaine in connection with a shooting incident. CMPD officers located McWaine, who was on court-ordered electronic monitoring for prior offenses, and attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the vehicle he was driving. McWaine did not stop and tried to evade arrest, first by speeding away in his vehicle and later on foot. McWaine was apprehended shortly thereafter. Investigating officers also found a firearm McWaine had discarded while he fled on foot. The recovered firearm was affixed with a large capacity magazine and was loaded with five rounds of ammunition.
The third incident took place on June 3, 2022, while CMPD officers were attempting to execute outstanding arrest warrants against McWaine. Officers located McWaine seated in the rear passenger seat of a vehicle parked at a gas station, and the defendant was taken into custody. Arresting officers also searched the vehicle and located a loaded firearm tucked under the seat where McWaine had been sitting.
On June 20, 2023, McWaine pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of a firearm by a felon. He remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The investigation was conducted by the ATF and CMPD.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Kelly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte 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, a
Columbia Man Sentenced to over Four Years in Federal Prison for Possessing a Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kentrell Thompson, 34, of Columbia, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that on July 26, 2020, shortly after 4:00 a.m., City of Columbia Police Department (CPD) officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert of 10 shots fired at an apartment complex in Columbia. CPD received information that three men were possibly involved in the incident and that they had walked into one of the apartments. CPD officers went to the apartment and spoke with Thompson, who denied any involvement in the shooting incident. Further investigation led officers to discover a video of the shooting incident that had been recorded by a nearby city camera. Thompson was identified in the video firing a large revolver several times in the air. The revolver was later found in the apartment where Thompson first spoke with CPD officers. The revolver was loaded with one round of ammunition.
Thompson was prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition due to various state felony convictions. In 2013, Thompson was convicted of strong-arm robbery. While serving a probationary term on the robbery conviction, Thompson was arrested in 2015 for selling cocaine and marijuana. He was later convicted on those drug charges and his probation was revoked. In 2018, Thompson was convicted of assault and battery first degree. Thompson was on probation for the assault and battery first degree conviction when the July 2020 shooting incident occurred.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Thompson to 57 months in prison, to be followed by a two-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the City of Columbia Police Department (CPD). Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher D. Taylor is prosecuting the case.
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Colorado Springs Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Dealing Xanax to Her 16-Year-Old SonRead the Press Release
DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Maria Davis-Conchie, age 49, of Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for distributing alprazolam (Xanax) to her 16-year-old son and his friends.
According to the plea agreement, on a regular basis over the course of at least one year leading up to January 30, 2022, Davis-Conchie illegally distributed controlled substances to her teenage son and his teenage friends. Davis-Conchie repeatedly sold the kids alprazolam (Xanax), a Schedule IV controlled substance. Davis-Conchie provided her son and his friends with Xanax for $5 to $10 per pill and gave them cautionary instructions to not use too many of the pills at one time. For a period of time, Davis-Conchie’s son and one of his friends used Xanax every weekend, although some of the Xanax was from people other than Davis-Conchie.
The plea agreement explains Davis-Conchie assumed her son would do drugs no matter what, so she decided to sell him and his friends drugs she felt were “safe.” In addition to Xanax, Davis-Conchie also provided the boys with marijuana, marijuana concentrate, and acid (LSD). Around December 31, 2021, Davis-Conchie purchased Xanax bars and LSD for her son and his friends. Davis-Conchie acquired these drugs and gave them to the boys because her son and his friends wanted to try something different on New Years Eve, and Davis-Conchie believed psychedelic drugs like LSD were “safe.” Davis-Conchie claims she bought those drugs from co-defendant Marlene McGuire at a fire station near McGuire’s residence and she brought her son and two of his friends with her.
Evidence considered at sentencing also established that Davis-Conchie introduced her son to co-defendants Douglas Floyd and Marlene McGuire, so he could buy fentanyl pills from them. Floyd pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl which resulted in the death of Davis-Conchie’s son and was sentenced to 157 months in federal prison on November 21, 2023. A federal jury convicted McGuire of distributing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl which resulted in the death of Davis-Conchie’s son and several other charges on September 22, 2023. McGuire’s sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2024.
“This case brings into stark relief the nightmare that is occurring daily in America,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. “Catastrophic decision-making paired with a deadly poisonous drug killed a child and destroyed a family.”
“Fentanyl continues to kill members of our communities at an alarming rate. This case is almost beyond belief: A mother provided drugs to her son and then introduced him to the dealers that supplied him with fentanyl, resulting in his death,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “This woman’s son is gone because of the chain of events she started, and this sentence is a consequence of her actions. We cannot ignore the devastation this drug continues to bring to countless lives here in Colorado and across the nation."
United States District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez sentenced Davis-Conchie on November 29, 2023.
The FBI and the Colorado Springs Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Peter McNeilly and Alyssa Christine Mance handled the prosecution of the case.
Case Number: 22-cr-00080-RMR
Coalport Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison and 4 Years of Supervised Release for Possessing with the Intent to Distribute MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A former resident of Coalport, PA, has been sentenced in federal court to a total of 87 months in prison followed by 4 years of supervised release on his conviction of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, United States Attorney Eric Olshan announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson imposed the sentence on Jacob Troxell, age 33, of Coalport, Pennsylvania on November 29, 2023.
According to information presented to the court, on or about July 22, 2019, Troxell did possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard, Jr. prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Mr. Olshan commended the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Troxell.
Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Accessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A man who participated in an online chat group where adult men made requests to a 13-year-old girl for sexually explicit photos and videos was sentenced November 29, 2023, to more than 11 years in federal prison.
Jason Dean Anderson, age 50, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 16, 2023 guilty plea to one count of accessing child pornography including a depiction involving a prepubescent minor or a minor who had not attained 12 years of age.
Information at the sentencing hearing showed that during 2021 and 2022, Anderson participated in a Snapchat group where men would sexually exploit a 13‑year-old girl. Anderson admitted to requesting that the girl take and post sexually explicit depictions of herself. Officers seized Anderson’s cell phone and found several videos and photos of child pornography, including depictions of adults sexually abusing infants. Anderson admitted that he was interested in teenagers and that he had chatted with some children online. Anderson had previously been encountered by law enforcement in 2012 after it was discovered that he was having sexually explicit conversations online with a seventeen‑year‑old girl who lived in a facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Anderson had been communicating with the seventeen‑year‑old for approximately two years and had requested that she send him sexually explicit pictures of herself.
Anderson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Anderson was sentenced to 135 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $5,100 in special assessments. He must also serve a five‑year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Anderson is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by former Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Dupuich and Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23‑CR‑00008‑CJW‑MAR.
Castle Shannon Resident Pleads Guilty to Possessing with the Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and CocaineRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA - A resident of Castle Shannon, PA, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and a quantity of cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Michael Hunsinger, age 58, pleaded guilty to one count before Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on June 3, 2022, the Castle Shannon Police Department executed a state court search warrant at the defendant’s residence. During the search, the officers seized large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from a vehicle located in the driveway of the residence and smaller quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine, along with digital scales, and $1,046 in U.S. currency from inside the house. The defendant informed the agent and officers that the quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine found in the car and in the house were his and that he intended to distribute those drugs.
Senior Judge Schwab scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than five years and not more than 40 years in prison, a fine of $5,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the defendant’s detention.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Stockey is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Castle Shannon Police Department conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Hunsinger.
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.
Carroll County Nurse Pleads Guilty to Stealing Controlled Substances from Life Care Center EmployerRead the Press Release
A nurse, who stole controlled substances from a life care center where she was employed, pled guilty today in federal court in Sioux City.
Cassandra Lynne Vonnahme, age 32, from Arcadia, Iowa, entered a guilty plea to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception, and subterfuge, and one count of false statements relating to health care matters. Vonnahme had been scheduled to begin a jury trial on December 11, 2023.
At the plea hearing, Vonnahme admitted that between November 2020 and December 2020, she diverted controlled substances and falsified related documents. The controlled substances Vonnahme stole and the records she falsified pertained to actual patients. Vonnahme was later convicted of burglary in Carroll County in 2021, where she stole controlled substances from a stranger’s home.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Vonnahme remains free on bond pending sentencing. Vonnahme faces a possible maximum sentence of 9 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 4- years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being investigated by the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-4019.
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California Man Sentenced for Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Huntington Park, California, man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing 2.6 pounds of cocaine, which he carried hidden in a suitcase while travelling by bus through Kansas City, Mo.
Alan E. Sanchez, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to eight years and one month in federal prison without parole.
On July 18, 2023, Sanchez was found guilty at trial of one count of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute.
A detective with the Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics (MOWIN) Task Force approached Sanchez at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station as he got off the bus, which originated in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2021. Sanchez, who had a bus ticket with an ending destination in Baltimore, Maryland, was carrying a soft-sided suitcase. He claimed to have dirty clothes in the bag, but nothing illegal, and agreed to let officers search his luggage.
When the detective searched the suitcase, he found a bundle that contained approximately 1,133.98 grams (2.6 pounds) of cocaine. Sanchez also had $2,626 in cash.
Evidence was presented during the trial that Sanchez was conspiring with another drug-trafficking mule who was on the same bus, who was transporting nearly two kilograms of cocaine. Testimony during the trial indicated that Sanchez had transported illegal drugs previously and was planning to smuggle illegal drugs from Mexico to the United States. When cocaine is broken down it can sell on the street for as much as $100 per gram; Sanchez personally was transporting nearly $100,000 worth of cocaine, indicating that he had earned the trust of his co-conspirators.
According to court documents, Sanchez made false statements and perjured himself at trial in an effort to obstruct justice, which was a factor considered by the court in determining his sentence.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Trey Alford and John C. Constance. It was investigated by the Kansas City Interdiction Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
California Businessman Pleads Guilty to COVID-Relief FraudRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – November 30, 2023
SAN DIEGO – Sean Winston, the CEO of Atlas Capital Management, LLC, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he fraudulently obtained $875,900 from COVID-19 pandemic-era loan programs.
According to his plea agreement, Winston held Atlas Capital Management out to the public as an entity that financed business projects, but in fact performed no business and was a shell corporation. Winston admitted that he submitted five loan and loan-forgiveness applications containing false statements to trick lenders into giving his company relief funds. Winston submitted fabricated bank account records, false payroll data, and a fake IRS Form 1120-S to create the illusion that Atlas Capital Management qualified for various pandemic era loans.
Winston admitted that he used the borrowed funds to pay his personal expenses and purchase luxury vehicles, such as a 2021 Lamborghini Urus, 2018 Rolls Royce Dawn, 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, and 2021 Cadillac Escalade. On September 28, 2023, federal law enforcement agents seized the vehicles and money in two bank accounts. Winston agreed to forfeit the cars and money to the United States.
The defendant applied for loans through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), which was enacted on March 27, 2020, to provide more than $2 trillion of economic relief to workers, families, small businesses, industry sectors and other levels of government that were hit hard by the public health crisis created by COVID-19. The CARES Act authorized the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) to temporarily guarantee loans under a new loan program titled the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).
Under the PPP, financial institutions made loans to qualified borrowers, and the SBA backed the loans. Borrowers agreed to use the PPP loans to cover payroll costs and certain eligible nonpayroll costs. In some cases, the borrower could apply for forgiveness of the loan. If approved for forgiveness, the SBA paid the loan for the borrower. One of Winston’s loans was forgiven.
The CARES Act also authorized the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL”). Winston also submitted a false EIDL application. Borrowers agreed to use EIDL funds solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by the disaster. Working capital expenses included payroll expenses, sick leave, production costs, and ordinary business obligations, like debts, rent, and mortgage payments.
Winston is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes on March 4, 2024.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys E. Christopher Beeler and Carl F. Brooker, IV.
DEFENDANT Case Number 23-CR-2441-WQH
Sean K. Winston Age: 44 Chino Hills, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343
Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and $1 million fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations
Brownsville man admits to attempting to transport more than $200,000 of cocaineRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 34-year-old man has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than four kilograms of cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On Oct. 4, Elias Garcia attempted to drive a Jeep Cherokee SUV through the primary inspection lane of the Falfurrias Border Patrol (BP) checkpoint. Soon thereafter, an X-ray of the vehicle showed the presence of an anomaly inside the vehicle’s battery compartment located beneath the driver’s seat.
Authorities searched the vehicle and discovered four bundles of cocaine concealed within the battery.
The weight of the cocaine was approximately four kilograms and had an estimated street value of more than $200,000.
U.S. District Judge David S. Morales will impose sentencing Feb. 21. At that time, Garcia faces up to 40 years in federal prison and a possible $5 million maximum fine.
He has been and will remain in custody pending sentencing.
BP and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Marck is prosecuting the case.
Brewer Woman Sentenced to 2 ½ Years for Wire Fraud, Making False Statements to a Lending Business & Making Straw PurchaseRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Brewer woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for wire fraud and making false statements to a mortgage lending business. She was also sentenced for making a false statement to a licensed firearms dealer in a separate case.
U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Carol Bragdon, 50, to 30 months imprisonment for her fraud counts and 12 months for her gun crimes, served concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release. Bragdon was also ordered to pay $177,000 in restitution. She pleaded guilty on April 13, 2023.
According to court records, between November 2020 and April 2021, Bragdon provided false statements and representations to a residential mortgage lender for the purpose of obtaining a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) backed loan. She used Google email accounts to communicate with the lender and the VA and to transmit documentation as part of the scheme. The emails were transmitted from Maine and through another state.
In August 2021, Bragdon purchased five firearms at Maine Military Supply in Brewer, falsely stating that she was the actual purchaser of the firearms. She was accompanied by an individual who directed her to specific firearms and who was later arrested with one of the firearms, a Walther model PK380 .380 caliber pistol. That individual was prohibited from purchasing a firearm under federal law.
The VA Office of Inspector General and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the cases.
STRAW PURCHASING: A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.
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Blue Springs Man Sentenced for Meth ConspiracyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Blue Springs, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Kenneth James Paulson, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
On Nov. 16, 2022, Paulson pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine from Aug. 11 to Oct. 14, 2020.
Paulson is the third and final defendant to be sentenced in this case. Louis Melvin Williamson, 52, of Independence, Mo., was sentenced on May 16, 2023, to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Kurt Thomas Kingsley, 41, of Independence, was sentenced on April 6, 2023, to seven years in federal prison without parole.
Williamson sold bulk quantities of methamphetamine to other dealers, including Kingsley, who in turn sold to Paulson. Williamson also sold smaller quantities to methamphetamine users. Paulson admitted that he purchased methamphetamine from Kingsley and sold bulk quantities to lower level dealers.
Agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, through undercover agents and confidential informants, made controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Paulson at his home and at a movie theater parking lot in Grain Valley, Mo. On Oct. 13, 2020, DEA agents stopped Paulson’s car in Blue Springs while he was on his way to another undercover controlled purchase. Agents found 145 grams of 99 percent pure methamphetamine in his car. Agents also searched his residence and found 226 grams of 99 percent pure methamphetamine in his garage. Agents also found a Smith & Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver in his garage.
On Oct. 14, 2020, Kingsley arrived at Paulson’s residence for an arranged drug sale. DEA agents found a black backpack on the passenger’s seat of Kingsley’s Ford F-150 that contained 46.7 grams of pure methamphetamine.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Gibson. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Birmingham-area Musician “88 DayDay” Charged for Role as Administrator of “Glass House Records,” a Telegram Channel Dedicated to Sale of Stolen ChecksRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal grand jury indicted a Birmingham-area musician and a co-conspirator for their roles in a cyber-enabled check fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector-in-Charge Scott D. Fix, Houston Division, and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.
A nine-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Daylin R. Banks, aka “30Skiii Only 1” and “88 DayDay,” 22, of Springville, Alabama, and Gabriel Samuel Odiot, aka “Motion,” 19, of Kissimmee, Florida, with conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices, and aggravated identity theft.
The indictment alleges that between August 2022 and July 2023, Banks participated in a scheme to sell stolen or otherwise fraudulent checks on a Telegram channel called “Glass House Records.” Banks obtained checks that had been stolen from the custody of the U.S. Postal Service and marketed a portion of them for sale on the “Glass House Records” Telegram channel. At the same time, Banks collaborated with Odiot and others to alter, duplicate, or forge other stolen checks and have them deposited into accounts controlled by the conspiracy.
The charges against Banks and Odiot relate to an indictment filed in August against Mekhi Diwone Harris, an administrator of an Alabama-based scam Telegram channel called “Work Related.” According to court documents, thousands of stolen or fraudulent checks totaling more than $15 million were posted to the “Work Related” channel.
The maximum penalty for conspiracy to commit bank fraud or conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution is 30 years in prison. The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison. The maximum penalty for possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices is 10 years in prison. The minimum penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other term of imprisonment.
The U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the Heflin Police Department, and the Hueytown Police Department have all provided significant assistance during the course of the investigation.
An indictment contains only charges. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Berwick Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl and Methamphetamine TraffickingRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Berwick man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland today to distributing, and possessing with intent to distribute, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
According to court records, in January and February of 2023, Bo Rodden, 33, sold fentanyl and methamphetamine to a confidential source. On February 14, 2023, Rodden was pulled over by a police officer in a traffic stop in Lebanon, Maine. He possessed five bags containing approximately 49 grams of fentanyl in total and two bags containing approximately 150 grams of methamphetamine in total.
Rodden faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine up to $1 million, and up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI, Strafford (NH) County Sheriff’s Office and York County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
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Beaverton Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 13 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Beaverton, Oregon drug trafficker with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison Wednesday after he was caught possessing a large quantity of drugs and several firearms.
Roderick Larkins, 54, was sentenced to 156 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.
According to court documents, in late May 2021, the Beaverton Police Department obtained information that Larkins was supplying fentanyl and other drugs to area drug dealers and possessed large quantities of drugs and several firearms in his Beaverton apartment. On May 23, 2021, investigators obtained and executed a search on Larkins apartment. They located and seized more than two pounds each of fentanyl pills and methamphetamine; smaller quantities of heroin, cocaine, and cocaine hydrochloride; a semiautomatic pistol, and two short-barreled assault rifles. Larkins, who was arrested without incident during the search, had tens of thousands of dollars stuffed into his pants pockets.
On July 20, 2021, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an eight-count indictment charging Larkins with possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Later, on August 8, 2023, the charges of distributing fentanyl and possessing with intent to distribute heroin were added by superseding indictment.
On August 31, 2023, Larkins pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute heroin.
This case was investigated by the Beaverton Police Department with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and FBI. It was prosecuted by Parakram Singh and Robert Trisotto, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
Baytown woman imprisoned after embezzling millions from her employerRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 55-year-old Baytown woman has been ordered to prison for wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Judy M. Green pleaded guilty April 27, admitting to embezzling over $3 million from her employer for approximately 10 years.
U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett has now ordered Green to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Bennett also ordered Green to pay $3.4 million in restitution, with $10,000 due immediately. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that because of the her theft, the victim company had to lay off employees and could not give bonuses to the remaining employees. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the length and depth of Green’s betrayal of people who trusted her.
Green worked as an account manager for a Houston-based building and maintenance supply company. As part of the scheme, she submitted fraudulent invoices to induce payment from the company and pocketed the funds for personal expenses. Ultimately, authorities uncovered the scheme when one of the business owners noticed a large payment to an unknown credit card company in the summer of 2022. An audit revealed the fraud had been ongoing since 2012.
Green was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Carter prosecuted the case.
Baton Rouge Man Sentenced to 70 Months for Bank RobberyRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Floyd C. Hose, Jr., age 38, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to 70 months in federal prison following his conviction for bank robbery. The Court further sentenced Hose to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment and ordered him to pay $9,605 in restitution.
On or about December 5, 2022, Hose entered the Cottonport Bank in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and passed a note to a teller demanding cash. According to reports, Hose said, “don’t do anything stupid or you will get hurt.” He took $9,605 from the teller and fled the bank. During a search of Hose’s apartment, detectives located a mask suspected to be worn during the robbery and money suspected to be taken during the robbery. After Hose’s arrest, he confessed to the robbery.
This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Baton Rouge Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward H. Warner.