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Monday 18 September 2023
Naples Man Sentenced for Possessing Firearm in Furtherance of A Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Michael Karp (50, Naples) to five years in federal prison for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Karp had pleaded guilty on June 22, 2023.
According to court documents, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) opened an investigation into Karp in 2022, during which Karp met with an undercover ATF agent who was posing as a drug dealer needing protection during drug deals. Karp indicated to the agent that he participated in that kind of work. On May 23, 2023, Karp met at a hotel in Naples believing that he was going to protect a drug sale of five pounds of methamphetamine. In reality, the drug transaction was for the sale of imitation methamphetamine between two undercover ATF agents. Karp stood by with a pistol as the transaction took place.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Morgan.
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.
Mobile Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Prison for Possessing and Firing an Illegal Machinegun During New Year’s Eve CelebrationsRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – A Mobile man was sentenced to 120 months in prison—the maximum sentence allowed under federal law—for illegally possessing a machinegun that he fired during New Year’s Eve celebrations in downtown Mobile.
According to court documents and evidence presented at his sentencing hearing, Thomas Earl Thomas, Jr., 23, fired a Glock .40 caliber pistol, which was illegally modified with a machinegun-conversion device and equipped with an extended magazine, into a crowd of revelers on Dauphin Street during Mobile’s New Year’s Eve celebrations on December 31, 2022. The device attached to Thomas’s illegal weapon, commonly referred to as a “Glock switch,” converted the firearm from a semiautomatic pistol to a fully automatic machinegun. Surveillance video showed Thomas firing multiple rounds from the firearm, which killed one victim, severely injured eight others, and caused substantial damage to nearby businesses.
Mobile police and paramedics tended to the wounded victims on-scene, who ranged from age 17 to age 57. Detectives also canvassed the scene, recovering 22 fired .40 caliber shell casings, four damaged bullets, three bullet jacket fragments, and two lead fragments, among other evidence. Detectives conducted two recorded interviews of Thomas, who admitted that he lied about several key facts during the interviews. Specifically, Thomas admitted that he lied about not having a gun or shooting it on Dauphin Street. Evidence extracted from Thomas’s cell phone linked him to the firearm, which he had purchased at a gun show in Mobile on December 10, 2022. Thomas admitted that he knew the gun had later been illegally modified with a machinegun-conversion device.
An expert with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives examined and test fired Thomas’s illegal weapon. When equipped with the machinegun-conversion device, the firearm expelled multiple rounds of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger. Both the firearm and the machinegun-conversion device are illegal under federal law.
“Wantonly shooting into an innocent crowd, Thomas made his crime even more dangerous and serious by using an illegal machinegun,” said U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello. “Working with our federal, state and local partners, we will do everything we can to protect our community by taking these illegal weapons off the street, and putting the criminals who use them in prison.”
Marcus Watson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Nashville Field Division, said, “Citizens should be able to attend celebratory events without the fear and grim reality of possibly losing their lives. This individual knowingly and recklessly discharged a firearm that contained a machinegun-conversion device, known as a ‘Glock switch,’ into a crowd of innocent people. The ATF along with our state, local, and federal partners will continue to utilize every resource that we have in the pursuit of justice for individuals who make the conscious effort to perpetuate violence in the communities that we serve.”
In addition to the 10-year prison sentence, Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock ordered Thomas to serve a three-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time he will receive treatment for substance abuse and mental health. The court did not impose a fine, but Judge Beaverstock ordered Thomas to pay $100 in special assessments and forfeited Thomas’s illegal weapon to the United States.
Thomas faces several pending charges in the Mobile County District Court stemming from this incident, including intentional murder, first-degree assault, and shooting a firearm into occupied and unoccupied buildings and vehicles. He is presumed innocent in that case until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The ATF and the Mobile Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
Middleton Man Sentenced to 32 Months for Illegal Gun PossesisonRead the Press Release
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Johnluke Spears, 32, Middleton, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 32 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Spears pleaded guilty to this charge on April 12, 2023.
On November 27, 2021, there was a shooting in the parking lot of Monkeyshines Bar in Fitchburg, Wisconsin. One person was shot, and surveillance video showed the injured person and his friend involved in a confrontation with another group. The injured person exchanged gunfire with at least one person in the other group.
During the subsequent investigation, officers determined that Spears had been standing next to one of the shooters. In December 2021, detectives executed a search warrant at Spears’ residence and found a loaded Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun, which is consistent with casings found at the shooting scene. Spears’ DNA was found on that handgun. Spears is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms.
At sentencing, Judge Peterson concluded that Spears is a “hard core gang guy” and, while he did not fire the shots at Monkeyshines, he hung around with friends who were involved in gun violence. Judge Peterson noted that the Glock .40 caliber handgun found in Spears’ apartment had a switch (which converted it to a machine gun) and drum magazine capable of holding 40 to 50 rounds making it very dangerous. Finally, Judge Peterson commented that Spears was on supervision for a prior weapons offense out of Illinois. Spears’ supervision on the Illinois case was revoked and Judge Peterson ordered the 32-month federal sentence to run concurrently with the 10 months remaining on Spears’ sentence in that Illinois case. The federal sentence imposed today will be followed by three years of supervised release.
The charge against Spears was the result of an investigation conducted by the Fitchburg Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan prosecuted this case.
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.
Members of Area Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced the sentencing of three individuals as the result of an extensive federal, state, and local investigation by the Middle District Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) aimed at a drug trafficking network based and operating in Baton Rouge.
Quentin Mabin, age 31, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to 144 months imprisonment in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The Court further sentenced Mabin to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
Jabari Williams, age 38, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to144 months imprisonment in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture of substance containing methamphetamine. The Court further sentenced Williams to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
Charles Andre, age 40, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was sentenced to 84 months imprisonment in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. The Court further sentenced Andre to serve three years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment.
As the charging documents explain, and the defendants admitted, on February 6, 2019, a confidential informant (CI) arranged for the purchase of four ounces of methamphetamine from Charles Andre for $1,500. The CI stated that they had previously purchased 4 ounces of methamphetamine directly from Quentin Mabin and Jabari Williams. Andre directed the CI to meet at a park near the intersection of Antioch and Tiger Bend Roads in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The CI was provided with the agreed-upon purchase price of $1,500 and an audio/video recording device. The recording captured Andre as the apparent coordinator of this drug transaction. Mabin was also seen video and heard stating that Williams would be arriving in the parking lot shortly. At that time, Mabin was aware that the CI, Andre, and Williams, and himself had negotiated a drug deal involving four ounces of methamphetamine for a purchase price of $1,500. Mabin then departed the area. Williams subsequently entered the parking lot of the location where Andre and the CI were located. Williams handed a packet to Andre who then placed the packet in the CI’s vehicle.
On February 20, 2019, the CI again arranged for the purchase of four ounces of methamphetamine. On this occasion, Andre directed the CI to come to his residence on Woodlawn Acres Avenue in Baton Rouge. At the designated time, law enforcement agents maintained surveillance at Mabin’s residence on Elva Drive in Baton Rouge. At approximately 7:20 p.m., Mabin was identified as he exited the residence and drove to a location in Denham Springs, Louisiana, where he engaged in what appeared to be a hand-to-hand drug transaction. At approximately the same time, separate law enforcement provided the CI with $1,500 and an audio/video recording device. The CI drove to, and entered, Andre’s Woodlawn Acres residence. After his meeting in Denham Springs, Louisiana, Mabin returned to the Elva Drive residence, entered the residence for a short period of time, and then drove to Andre’s Woodlawn Acres residence. The CI’s video captured Andre’s absence from the kitchen area of the residence for a brief period of time. Agents conducting surveillance outside of the residence identified Mabin as he pulled into the driveway of Andre, met with Andre, and then drove off. Andre then entered the residence and handed the CI a packet containing methamphetamine.
On February 23, 2019, EBRSO Narcotics agents obtained a search warrant for Mabin’s Elva Drive residence. A search of said residence was conducted and methamphetamine was seized. Mabin shared possession of this methamphetamine with Williams, knew that it was methamphetamine, and, along with Williams, possessed the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.
On February 28, 2020, law enforcement identified that a residence in Denham Springs, Louisiana, was likely receiving shipments of illegal narcotics. On March 2, 2020, a police canine conducted a free air sniff of a FedEx package addressed to said residence. The canine returned a positive alert for the presence of illegal controlled substances. A search warrant for the package was then obtained, and the package was opened and searched. Among items found in the package were 6 vacuum-sealed bags containing over 3 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine. A small amount of the substance was placed back into the Federal Express package, which was then delivered under surveillance of law enforcement to the suspect Denham Springs residence. Upon delivery of the package, the resident at the address on the FedEx package looked at it, to include the name on the package, and advised that it was not his. The resident stated that he had recently moved into the residence, and that a man advised him that he had recently moved from the residence, and that a package addressed to him was still being delivered to the residence. The man requested that, upon receipt, the resident place the package on the front steps of the residence so that he could pick it up. After the delivery was completed, the resident placed the package on the front steps of the residence and then departed the area.
Approximately one hour after the package was left on the front steps of the residence, during which time surveillance was maintained, Mabin approached the residence on foot and took possession of the package. The male then ran down the street and entered a gray Toyota Camry. A computer inquiry of the license place on the vehicle identified that it was registered to a female with an outstanding warrant for her address. Law enforcement then conducted a traffic stop of the Camry. After being advised of her Miranda rights, the female driver (who was also the registered owner of the Camry) advised that she had given Mabin, the sole passenger in the vehicle, a ride the area near the aforementioned delivery address so he could pick up a package. The driver gave consent to a search of her vehicle and, among other items, law enforcement located and seized the Federal Express package that had been the subject of this ongoing investigation. The package was located on the front passenger floorboard where Mabin was sitting.
After being advised of his Miranda rights, Mabin admitted that the methamphetamine belonged to him, and that he had ordered approximately seven pounds of methamphetamine for a price of $14,000 from a source in California. He stated that he used the address of the suspect Denham Springs residence because it had been vacant.
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.
This investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration with invaluable assistance from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul L. Pugliese.
Man Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Child in FijiRead the Press Release
A Florida man was sentenced today to 60 years in prison for sexually abusing a child while traveling in Fiji.
According to court documents, Jason R. Moore, 43, of Milton, sexually abused a child on multiple occasions during trips to Fiji in 2013 and 2016. In late 2022, Moore was arrested in Santa Rosa County by special agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge John Condon of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa made the announcement.
HSI, FDLE, and the New York State Police investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Adam Braskich of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg for the Northern District of Florida prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Man Sentenced for Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for manufacturing and attempting to manufacture child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to court documents, David Dunn, 57, of Red Hill, used the mobile applications Snapchat and Likee to coerce and entice a 10-year-old female to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Dunn told the victim he was 11 years old and sent the minor female CSAM depicting minor boys, which he had downloaded from the Dark Web. Dunn captured the CSAM he coerced the victim to create and sent it to another individual via Telegram. Two cell phones seized from Dunn’s home contained thousands of images and videos of CSAM.
Dunn pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard Langham of the FBI Philadelphia Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Kaylynn N. Foulon of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Jayne for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.
Man Sentenced for Failing to Register as a Sex Offender for the Second TimeRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Sire English, 31, was sentenced on September 15, 2023, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for failing to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced English to imprisonment for 30 months in the Bureau of Prisons. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from federal prison, English will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On March 18, 2012, English was convicted of Child Enticement in the State of Iowa. He was sentenced to probation for two years and was thereafter required to register as a sex offender in any state in which he resided pursuant to the Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), a federal law. Records obtained from the Iowa Sex Offender Registry indicate that on August 9, 2022, English registered as a sex offender in the State of Iowa and listed an address at an apartment in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
English was previously convicted of a SORNA felony in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska on October 15th, 2018. At that time, he was sentenced to imprisonment for 15 months and a 5-year term of supervised release. On October 13, 2022, English was arrested on a federal warrant for violating the conditions of his supervised release from the prior case. At the time of his arrest, English was found by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to be residing at an address at an apartment on Hamilton Street in Omaha. The USMS confirmed through additional investigation that English had been living in Omaha since April 8, 2022, and had moved out of his registered address in Council Bluffs in December of 2021.
English did not register or attempt to register, nor did he update his sex offender registration to show that he was residing in Omaha pursuant to the requirements of SORNA between approximately April 8, 2022, and October 18, 2022, when he was arrested.
This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.
Man Sentenced for Drug ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Lorenzo Gonzalez-Perez, 25, was sentenced on September 15, 2023, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for his participation in a methamphetamine and fentanyl drug conspiracy. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Gonzalez-Perez to 120 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.
Beginning in August 2021 and continuing to November 4, 2021, Gonzalez-Perez agreed with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over 50 grams of methamphetamine actual and over 100 grams of fentanyl analogue.
On October 18, 2021, Utah Highway Patrol troopers stopped a red Dodge Charger due to a malfunctioning rear license plate light and illegal window tint. The car was driven by co-defendant Giovanna Cisneros and Gonzalez-Perez was a passenger.
Troopers conducted a free air sniff with a K-9 who alerted to the smell of narcotics. As a result, a probable cause search of the Charger was conducted by the state trooper. Inside the trunk was a luggage bag that contained two tin foil wrapped packages. Those packages contained round blue pills stamped ‘M 30.’ The bags weighed approximately 5 pounds and lab tested positive for fentanyl.
Cisneros admitted to the trooper that she was transporting the pills and would receive between $6,000-$7,000 for the trip. She further admitted she was transporting the narcotics for others. Cisneros also advised officers that Gonzalez-Perez was not to receive money for the trip due to being in trouble with others involved in the conspiracy.
Prior to the trip, intercepted phone calls on October 13, 2021, indicated that Cisneros and Gonzalez-Perez were working at the direction of Mayra Rendon. During the phone calls, Rendon informed Emidio Becerra that she was looking for Gonzalez-Perez after he failed to answer his phone after a drug proceeds pick up. Rendon told Becerra she needed someone to drive to California to pick up the pills. Ultimately, Cisneros and Gonzalez-Perez were instructed to make the trip.
Mayra Rendon pled guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced on September 15, 2022, to 210 months custody followed by 5 years of supervised release.
Colleen Wiand pled guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced on October 28, 2022, to 97 months custody with 3 years of supervised release to follow.
Darbelio Lorenzo-Genchi and Iris Gallardo-Salado each pled guilty to drug conspiracy and were sentenced on March 6, 2023, and February 17, 2023, respectively, to 96 months custody with 2 years of supervised release to follow.
Samantha Cawyer pled guilty to drug conspiracy and was sentenced to 72 months with 3 years of supervised release on August 25, 2023.
Giovana Cisneros pled guilty to drug conspiracy. Sentencing is scheduled for October 12, 2023.
Emidio Becerra and Oscar Ulises Quiroz Ayon are scheduled for trial on September 25, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration.
Milton Man Sentenced to Sixty Years in Federal Prison for Child Sex Crimes Committed in FijiRead the Press Release
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Jason R. Moore, 43, of Milton, Florida, was sentenced to sixty years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to two counts of “Illicit Sexual Conduct in Foreign Places.” The sentence was announced by Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
“There is no greater charge than the protection of our children,” said U.S. Attorney Coody. “This sentence is yet another example of the unwavering commitment to the protection of our most vulnerable and should serve as a significant deterrent to those who would attempt to harm them. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who engage in such heinous conduct.”
Moore engaged in “Illicit Sexual Conduct in Foreign Places” from March 2013 through February 2016. Specifically, Moore engaged in these crimes in the Republic of Fiji. Moore was arrested by Special Agents from the Department of Homeland Security and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in Santa Rosa County in late 2022 after victims of Moore’s crimes came forward regarding their sexual abuse.
Moore’s prison sentence will be followed by a Lifetime of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender and be subject to all sex offender conditions.
“Individuals who masquerade under a disguise of public trust and prey on the vulnerability of children in their own home should expect to be held fully accountable for their actions,” said HSI Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “I commend the victim for having the courage to come forward. HSI’s strong partnerships with HSI Buffalo and the New York State Police were key in holding this sexual predator responsible for turning a child into a lifelong victim.”
This case resulted from a joint investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the New York State Police. Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg and Trial Attorney Adam Braskich of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.
FDLE Pensacola Special Agent in Charge Chris Williams said, “As a former preacher, Moore had plenty of access to children in a role that placed him in a position of trust for parents and the community. Taking this dangerous predator off the streets was a priority for our agents. I thank them for their commitment to this case as well as that of our partners. I’m glad to know Moore will be in prison for years to come.”
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 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
Lyons Man Arrested on Multiple Child Pornography and Enticement ChargesRead the Press Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Randall Seeley, Jr., 45, of Lyons, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production, receipt, and possession of child pornography, and online enticement of a minor. The charges carry a minimum penalty of 15 years in, a maximum term of life, and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in July 2023, the New York State Police in Lyons received a report that Seeley had been involved in sexually explicit online communications with a 13 to 14-year-old minor. An investigation led to the execution of a search warrant in August 2023, at Seeley’s residence. A review of the minor’s social media accounts revealed sexually explicit communications between Seeley and the minor going back as far as July 2022. A preliminary forensic analysis of Seeley’s electronic devices recovered hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, depicting the minor and other, unknown children.
Seeley made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Marian W. Payson and is being held without bail.
The criminal complaint is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Brian Ratajczak, and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Long Island Man Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography in Cyber-Bullying CaseRead the Press Release
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Lorenzo Arana was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 210 months in prison for distribution of child pornography in connection with his circulation on social media of sexually explicit videos of a 12-year-old girl. Arana pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2022.
Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the sentencing.
“Today’s sentence brings justice to a vulnerable young girl and many others like her throughout the country who were terrorized and harmed by the defendant’s weaponization of social media to target them for undeserved cruelty, vulgarity, and abuse,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “It will always be a priority of this Office to protect children and hold online predators accountable for their actions. My message to parents and caregivers is please talk to your children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers who may exploit them and to seek help from a trusted adult if they are being threatened.”
“It is particularly evil for a person to prey upon young people and exploit their innocence, but to do so to the point where a victim sees no reason to live is beyond reprehensible,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo. “The defendant, Lorenzo Arana, got what he deserved today for his actions. There is no place in our society for such heinous behavior, and HSI New York is committed to protecting our children in every way possible.”
Arana, who also used the online alias “Lorenzo Blake,” has a lengthy and well-documented history of using social media—where he amassed thousands of followers, many of whom were minors—to target underage girls for harassment and abuse. Arana leveraged his large following across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube, to bully, harass and exploit underage girls, including through blackmail with sexually explicit material he solicited from them, threatening to publicly distribute the material—along with other sensitive information, such as the victims’ cellphone numbers—for a range of conduct Arana deemed unacceptable, from refusing to send additional pornographic materials to simply declining his phone calls.
Arana’s conviction in this case related specifically to his online harassment and abuse in September 2020 of a 12-year-old described in the indictment as Jane Doe #2. After soliciting sexually explicit material from “Jane Doe #2,” Arana intentionally distributed those videos to her friends and classmates on social media (including other minors), causing Jane Doe #2 to attempt suicide. Arana posted about his conduct on social media, acknowledging that he distributed the compromising material to “expose” Jane Doe #2 for refusing to respond to his calls. Law enforcement recovered a text message on Jane Doe #2’s cellphone, in which Arana stated “kill ur . . . self.” Upon learning that Jane Doe #2 was contemplating suicide, Arana responded, “I don’t care . . . she deserves it.” Local police in another state received an emergency call, requesting a welfare check of Jane Doe #2. Responding officers found Jane Doe #1 unconscious in her bed, along with loose pills, two pill bottles, a firearm, and a suicide note. The victim survived.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Bagnuola is in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
LORENZO ARANA (also known as “Lorenzo Blake”)
Age: 22
Island Park, New YorkE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-19 (GRB)
Lincoln Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl Resulting in DeathRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Regina A. Rodriguez, 46, of Lincoln, Nebraska, was sentenced on September 18, 2023, by Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard to 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, resulting in the death of another person. Following her release from prison, Rodriguez will serve three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
On the morning of June 21, 2022, a Lincoln man was found dead at a Lincoln halfway house. A spoon containing a blue/white substance, a broken pill, and a syringe were found in the man’s room. Two additional blue pills were found in his wallet. Testing at the Nebraska State Patrol laboratory showed the two pills found in the victim’s wallet and the substance on the spoon contained fentanyl and another drug, 4-ANPP. After an autopsy was conducted, it was determined the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity.
Text messages in the victim’s phone led investigators to suspect Rodriguez, and her husband/co-defendant, Arnaldo Rodriguez-Santini, were the sources of the fentanyl. In August of 2022, Rodriguez was contacted by narcotics investigators. She admitted knowing the victim. She admitted she and her husband were addicted to opioids and used pills which she knew contained fentanyl. When asked about messages from the victim asking to buy pills at his workplace on June 20, 2022, Rodriguez said she did not specifically remember going there on that date but admitted it was likely she and her husband had met with the victim and delivered five pills to him.
The case against Arnaldo Rodriguez-Santini is scheduled for a status hearing on September 26, 2023.
This case was investigated by the Lincoln/Lancaster County Narcotics Task Force (Lincoln Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and UNL Police Department).
Kissimmee Man Sentenced to More Than 15 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing over One Million Files of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron has sentenced Edward Nicholas Carney (54, Kissimmee) to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material. The court also ordered Carney to forfeit more than 50 electronic devices which were used to commit the offense. Carney had pleaded guilty on June 22, 2023.
According to court documents, Carney shared hundreds of depictions of child sexual abuse material using a social media platform. Upon executing a search warrant on his home, law enforcement uncovered more than one million depictions of child sexual abuse material on Carney’s electronic devices. Carney had screen savers displaying child sexual abuse on his computers when law enforcement entered his residence. Upon his arrest, Carney asked a law enforcement officer, “You’ve never had any curiosity about something? Just to look and see?”
As of the date of Carney’s sentencing hearing, more than 2 terabytes of child sexual abuse material, including 137 known series of child sex abuse, have been located on Carney’s electronic devices.
“This investigation is yet another example of the dedication and determination of the FBI and its law enforcement partners in unmasking child predators and keeping our children safe,” said FBI Tampa Division Special Agent in Charge David Walker.
“The detectives at the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office who dedicate hundreds of hours investigating monsters like Edward N. Carney are the true heroes. The partnerships we develop with organizations like the FBI is a great way of demonstrating to the community that we can do remarkable things together as one”, said Osceola Sheriff Marcos Lopez.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Courtney D. Richardson-Jones.
This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Jefferson Parish Man Indicted for Violations of the Federal Gun Control ActRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA – DAMION SMITH, age 22, of Metairie, Louisiana, was indicted on September 15, 2023, for violations of the Federal Gun Control Act. Specifically, he is charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8) and one count of possessing machine guns, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(o) and 924(a)(2), announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to court documents, SMITH was previously convicted of felony offenses in Jefferson Parish. Due to his criminal history, he is prohibited from having a firearm. On June 29, 2023, SMITH was found in possession of two (2) firearms, both of which were equipped with a Glock auto-sear. The auto-sear devices converted the semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic machine guns.
If convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, SMITH faces a maximum of fifteen (15) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three (3) years of supervised release. If convicted of possession of machine guns, SMITH faces a maximum of ten (10) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three (3) years of supervised release. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee on each count.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in investigating this matter. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Kennedy of the Violent Crime Unit.
Jamestown Man Arrested, Charged with Possession of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Andre Richards, 23, of Jamestown, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum of life and a $10,000,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, since January 2022, law enforcement has been investigating the drug trafficking activities of Richards in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties in NY, and in Warren, PA. During the investigation, Richards was charged with several New York State felonies involving the possession and distribution of large quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl as well as criminal possession of a loaded firearm. Despite these pending felony charges, Richards continued to operate a significant drug trafficking organization. The complaint states that Richards utilized a North Main Street residence in Russell, PA, as well as a residence on South Work Street in Falconer, NY.
In March 2023, after investigators conducted surveillance of Richards driving around Jamestown, NY, and observed him engaging in activity consistent with narcotics dealing, including a brief meeting with an individual that involved a hand-to-hand exchange, search warrants were executed on his vehicle and the residence in Falconer, NY. During the searches, law enforcement seized approximately 84 grams of crystal methamphetamine, approximately $6,600.00 of United States currency, a digital scale, a drug processing press, a 9mm magazine, and bullets. During a search of the Russell, PA, residence, law enforcement seized approximately 20 lbs. of crystal methamphetamine.
Richards made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was detained.
The complaint is the result of a joint investigation by the Jamestown Police Department Drug Task Force, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson, the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force, under the direction of Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone, the Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Timothy Whitcomb, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Eugene Staniszewski, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division, and the Warren County, PA, Drug Task Force, under the direction of Sheriff Brian Zeybel.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Honduran National Indicted for Illegal Re-EntryRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – WILLIAM LEONELL LOPEZ, age 36, was indicted on September 15, 2023, for illegal reentry of a removed alien in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.
According to the indictment, WILLIAM LEONELL LOPEZ, ("LOPEZ") reentered the United States after being previously deported on June 19, 2009. If convicted, LOPEZ faces a maximum term of imprisonment of two years, a maximum fine of up to $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of up to one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
U.S. Attorney Evans reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carter K.D. Guice, Jr. of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Heavener Resident Sentenced for Possessing Child Sexual Exploitation MaterialRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Carl Robert Kannady, age 67, of Heavener, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, followed by mandatory registration as a sex offender and a lifetime term of supervised release, for the Possession of Certain Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor.
The charges arose from investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Department.
On June 14, 2022, Kannady pleaded guilty to possessing certain material involving the sexual exploitation of a minor. According to investigators, LeFlore County Sheriff’s Department received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerting them to images of child exploitation posted by Kannady. A search warrant executed on Kannady’s home returned over 8,000 images depicting child sexual exploitation on DVDs, USB drives, and a computer hard drive.
The Honorable Judge John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Kannady will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.
Assistant United States Attorney Caila M. Cleary represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc and click on the tab ‘Resources.’
If you have information about the physical or online exploitation of children, please call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE–LOST (1-800-843-5678) or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.
Hardin County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography ViolationsRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Silsbee man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.
Michael Joseph Fontenot, 51, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.
According to public information, an investigation by the Denver Innocent Images Task Force into individuals viewing and downloading child pornography through a social media application led to Fontenot in Hardin County, Texas. A search warrant was executed by federal law enforcement at Fontenot’s residence and several electronic devices were seized, including a cell phone, tablet, flash drives and a laptop. A forensic review of the items revealed over 600 images of child pornography.
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 and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.
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Guilty Pleas Entered in Two Homicide Cases in the DistrictRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Joseph Brown, 33, pleaded guilty today to second degree murder while armed, and Rondell McLeod, 30, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed in the shooting death of 21-year-old Amari Jenkins, on Aug. 18, 2015, in front of St. Luke’s Catholic Church, located at 4925 East Capitol Street, N.E. The pleas were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Acting Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The defendants, both of Washington, D.C., admitted that on the day of the murder, they emerged from a blue van that pulled in front of the church, and fired 28 rounds at Jenkins, before reentering the van and making their escape.
In a separate case, Joseph Brown pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed for the shooting of 29-year-old Antwan Baker, on Nov. 12, 2015, in the 5300 block of Clay Terrace, N.E. In that homicide, Brown admitted he emerged from a vehicle and shot Baker six times in the back of the head and neck before fleeing the scene.
Both defendants will be sentenced on Dec. 4, 2023, by D.C. Superior Court Judge Marisa J. Demeo. McLeod is currently serving an 11-year sentence for federal robbery charges brought in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, and the government will argue at sentencing that McLeod’s voluntary manslaughter sentence should run consecutive to the federal robbery sentence.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Graves and Acting Chief Smith commended the work of the officers and detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department who investigated the case. They also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael P. Spence and Andrea Coronado, who prosecuted the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
French man sentenced for international tax schemeRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Ayodele Arasokun, age 46, of Paris, France, was sentenced today in West Virginia to 34 years in federal prison for orchestrating an international tax scheme.
Arakosun was convicted by a jury in October 2022 of twenty-one counts of wire fraud and aggravated identify theft. According to court documents and statements made in court, Arasokun coordinated a scheme to file 1,701 false returns and claim $9.1 million in refunds, with West Virginia residents among the victims.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Arasokun had the money transferred to pre-paid debit cards and checking accounts that he was monitoring. The investigation revealed approximately 700 U.S.-based accounts containing more than $50 million was being tracked by the defendant. A total of $2.2 million in fraudulent refunds were actually paid by the Internal Revenue Service.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Cogar and Eleanor Hurney.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) - Cybercrime Investigations Division, and the IRS-CI, Los Angeles field office investigated.
TIGTA investigates abuses of the IRS’s online electronic portals, including the Electronic Filing Pin application, which was compromised in this case.
U.S. District Judge Gina M. Groh presided.
Fremont Man Sentenced for Drug and Firearm ChargesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Jarrett Chappelear, 26, of Fremont, Nebraska, was sentenced on September 15, 2023, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for distributing methamphetamine while possessing a firearm. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Chappelear to 96 months’ imprisonment for the distribution and 60 months’ imprisonment for possessing a firearm during a drug transaction, for a total of 156 months. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, Chappelear will begin a 4-year term of supervised release.
On October 29, 2021, the Nebraska State Patrol in Norfolk, Nebraska, utilized a confidential informant to purchase 1,245 grams of pure methamphetamine from Chappelear. Shortly after the controlled buy, troopers stopped Chappelear driving away. Chappelear was found to be in possession of an FNS 9mm handgun with two spare magazines of ammunition.
This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol.
Fort Myers Roofing Contractors Sentenced to Prison for Evading over $1.1 Million in TaxesRead the Press Release
Two Florida businessmen, David Aaron and Russell Ultes, were sentenced today to 18 months and nine months in prison, respectively, for a scheme to evade over $1.1 million in income taxes.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Aaron and Ultes were co-owners of Marlin Construction Group LLC (Marlin), a Fort Myers-based residential and commercial roofing company. In 2018 and 2019, Aaron and Ultes diverted millions of dollars of customer checks made payable to Marlin, by cashing them at check-cashing businesses in nearby counties. Aaron and Ultes used the cash to pay personal expenses, such as the purchase of jet-skis, boats and vehicles.
To carry out the scheme, Aaron and Ultes caused Marlin’s books and records to falsely underreport the business’s gross receipts and income for those years. Aaron and Ultes provided false information to Marlin’s tax return preparers, resulting in the preparation of false 2018 and 2019 corporate income tax returns (Forms 1120S) that did not report all gross receipts and income. Because the income from the false corporate returns flowed through to Aaron and Ultes’s personal returns, their 2018 and 2019 personal income tax returns (Forms 1040) were similarly false. In total, Aaron and Ultes caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $1.13 million.
U.S. District Judge Sheri P. Chappell for the Middle District of Florida also ordered that, in addition to their prison sentences, Aaron serve three years of supervised release and pay a $50,000 fine and that Ultes serve nine months of home confinement, followed by three years of supervised release and pay a $75,000 fine.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida made the announcement.
IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Stanley J. Okula Jr. and Trial Attorney Richard J. Hagerman of the Tax Division prosecuted the case with support from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
Fort Myers Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms as A Convicted FelonRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, Florida – U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Barber has sentenced Travis Lavon Anderson (36, Fort Myers) to nine years in federal prison for possessing firearms as a previously convicted felon. The court also ordered Anderson to forfeit the firearms and ammunition possessed during the offense. Anderson had pleaded guilty on June 12, 2023.
According to court documents, in the afternoon of June 8, 2022, Fort Myers Police Department (FMPD) officers were alerted to multiple rounds of gunfire in quick succession in the vicinity of a residence on Lantana Street in Fort Myers. During a subsequent investigation into the origin of the gunfire, officers obtained surveillance video depicting Anderson discharging a firearm 10 times in front of his residence on Lantana Street. The FMPD obtained a search warrant for the interior of the residence where officers found three firearms and several dozen rounds of ammunition belonging to Anderson, including a loaded AR-15-style rifle and two handguns. As a convicted felon, Anderson is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.
This case was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fort Myers Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon R. Eth.
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.
Former U.S. Postal Service Employee in Chicago Admits Stealing Stimulus Checks from the MailRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — A former U.S. Postal Service employee in Chicago has pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing government stimulus checks from the mail.
OLIVIA L. BRYANT admitted in a plea agreement that in 2020 and 2021 she stole hundreds of pieces of mail from her route in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Some of the stolen mail contained government stimulus checks that were issued by the U.S. Treasury during the Covid-19 pandemic, the plea agreement states. Bryant admitted that five of the stimulus-check thefts occurred on St. Patrick’s Day 2021 when she removed the checks from her postal satchel and transferred them to her purse.
Bryant, 35, of Chicago, pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of theft from the U.S. mail. The conviction is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey set sentencing for Dec. 7, 2023.
The guilty plea was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Scott Pierce, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Great Lakes Area Field Office of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General; and J. Russell George, Inspector General of the Treasury Department Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Malgorzata Tracz Kozaka.
Bryant plea agreementFormer Social Worker Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years in Federal Prison for Masterminding Multiple Frauds by Using Clients’ Stolen IdentitiesRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A former Orange County social worker was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison for stealing the Social Security numbers and other personal identifying information (PII) from clients then using the stolen information to fraudulently obtain tax refunds, welfare benefits, and credit cards.
John Tran, who is believed to be either 57 or 61, of Fountain Valley, was sentenced by United States District Judge James V. Selna, who also ordered him to pay $1,110,288 in restitution.
Tran pleaded guilty in November 2019 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States with respect to claims, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
From August 2010 to June 2019, Tran and his co-conspirators used the stolen information to fraudulently obtain money from the federal government, the State of California, the County of Orange and financial institutions.
The Orange County Social Services Administration employed Tran from July 1994 until October 2018. Tran abused his position of public trust to steal PII belonging to agency clients as well as other individuals, many of whom were recent immigrants to the United States.
Tran and his co-conspirators used the stolen PII to file false federal and state tax returns in the names of identity theft victims, fraudulently obtaining welfare benefits, underreporting income, and falsely claiming deductions on their personal tax returns, and opening credit cards and other lines of credit in the names of the identity theft victims. Proceeds from the schemes were laundered and structured to avoid detection by law enforcement and banks.
Tran and his accomplices filed approximately 433 tax returns using stolen PII and generated at least $973,153 in tax refund payments from the United States.
To further the scheme and avoid detection by the IRS, Tran provided the stolen PII to tax preparers in Orange County who used it to create fraudulent Forms 1099-MISC purporting to show payments made to the identity theft victims by companies, including those controlled by Tran and other co-conspirators.
False federal income tax returns were prepared using the Tran-provided stolen identities. Purported payments on the fraudulent Forms 1099 were falsely used as income to the identify theft victims, making them appear to qualify for tax credits, including the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
In turn, the purported payments to the identity theft victims were used by the tax preparers’ clients to offset business revenues and reduce the taxes they owed by making it appear that the identity theft victims worked for them. In exchange for the fabrication of the Forms 1099, the corrupt tax preparers’ clients paid them a fee.
Tran also used the stolen identities of two victims to open fraudulent bank accounts, open credit cards, and open social services cases. For example, in September 2014, Tran opened a credit card account in another person’s name and used that card for personal expenses, including for items such as skin care products, Costco purchases, and sports gambling.
Tran in 2007 charged approximately $14,000 to a credit card in the name of one victim after he convinced the victim to allow him to use the victim’s credit card. The victim, who was a recent immigrant to the United States and one of Tran’s SSA clients, believed that he had to let Tran use the credit card because Tran was a powerful government official who had control over the victim’s families’ SSA benefits.
In addition to opening at least 12 fraudulent bank and credit card accounts, Tran fraudulently created and managed SSA benefits cases for family, friends, and for himself, obtaining state benefits for which he and others were not entitled.
In total, along with the $973,153 in fraudulently obtained tax refunds, Tran defrauded two victims out of approximately $44,604, and defrauded the Orange County Social Services Administration out of approximately $92,531.
“[Tran] abused his position of trust as a social worker to steal his client’s identities and generate fraudulent tax refunds for his personal gain,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Not satisfied with stealing from the IRS, [Tran] also fraudulently obtained social services benefits for himself and others.”
Anton Nguyen, 54, of Fountain Valley, the owner of a Westminster-based tax preparation business, was sentenced last month to 41 months in prison and was ordered to pay $3,773,282 in restitution for his role in the scheme.
Rosemary Pham, 65, of Midway City, another tax preparer, pleaded guilty on July 14 to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and one count of aiding and advising the filing of false tax returns. She faces up to eight years in federal prison at her October 30 sentencing hearing.
In total, federal prosecutors have secured eight guilty pleas in this criminal case.
IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Bradley E. Marrett of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Former Pittsburgh Health Services Company Executive Sentenced to Prison for Tax FraudRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States. Nocito, former CEO and President of Pittsburgh-based Automated Health Systems (AHS), will serve – in addition to his prison sentence – 3 years of supervised release, which includes six months on home detention, and pay approximately $15,824,056 in restitution to the Government. United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Chief Judge Joy Flowers Conti imposed the sentence on Joseph Nocito, age 81, of Sewickley, PA.
Court documents and statements outline Nocito’s scheme between 2006 and 2012 to illegally classify millions of dollars of personal expenses as deductible business expenses and finance construction of a 51,000-square-foot mansion valued at approximately $30 million. Nocito named the home “Villa Noci.” The falsified expenses included interior and exterior construction costs; design and furnishings; an outdoor pool and pool house; tennis, basketball and bocce courts; and landscaping for the grounds. Nocito also fraudulently expensed millions of dollars for other personal expenses such as luxury vehicles, artwork, country club memberships, homes for his children and private school tuition for grandchildren.
In addition to filing false personal returns, Nocito underreported AHS’s profits by shuffling millions of dollars of income through other entities in fraudulent transactions designed to conceal AHS’s true income and tax liability. Among other things, Nocito made recurring, sham payments from AHS to other entities he controlled, falsely characterizing the transactions as payments for management, administrative or consulting expenses. He then deducted the expenses in AHS’s corporate income tax returns.
“The defendant diverted millions of dollars that should’ve gone to the IRS and used it to build a 51,000 square foot mansion in the Pittsburgh suburbs, amounting to the largest tax fraud ever perpetrated in our District,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “This crime is an affront to every hardworking, tax-paying individual in this country. We commend our partners with IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their thorough and tireless efforts to hold this defendant accountable for his egregious conduct.”
“Today’s sentencing brings Mr. Nocito’s massive scheme to defraud the IRS to a conclusion,” said Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation. “Tax fraud of this magnitude, never before seen in this Judicial District, deserves to be punished and today was Mr. Nocito’s day of reckoning. Honest taxpayers suffer when self-admitted criminals like Mr. Nocito swindle the government. The Special Agents of IRS-CI, our law enforcement partners, and the Department of Justice remain steadfast in our dedication to prosecuting those who carry out schemes that cheat the government and hurt those who pay their fair share.”United States Attorney Olshan commended the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service who investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory C. Melucci and Nicole A. Stockey for the Western District of Pennsylvania and Department of Justice Trial Attorney Matthew L. Cofer of the Tax Division prosecuted the case.
Former Local Politician Arrested on Indictment Alleging $70,000 in Bribes to Baldwin Park City Councilmember for Marijuana PermitsRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former Compton city councilman was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he and his consulting client paid $70,000 in bribes to a member of the Baldwin Park City Council in exchange for that official’s votes and support for commercial marijuana permits.
Isaac Jacob Galvan, 36, of Compton, who served on the Compton City Council from 2013 until May 2022, was arrested at his residence this morning on a 10-count indictment filed on September 13 and unsealed today.
Special agents with the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation today also arrested Yichang Bai, 50, of Arcadia, the owner and operator of W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar-based import-export business and a consulting client of Galvan’s who allegedly helped orchestrate the bribery scheme.
The indictment charges Galvan and Bai with one count of conspiracy, one count of bribery and eight counts of honest services wire fraud. The defendants are expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“Former Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan stands accused of paying tens of thousands of dollars to a corrupt member of the Baldwin Park City Council in order to enrich himself and a client with a marijuana business,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “This case is yet another example of my office’s determination to root out public corruption and backroom deals that corrode our political system. We will continue to pursue politicians who violate their sacred oaths by placing their own desires ahead of their constituents’ needs.”
“Today, the FBI arrested Isaac Galvan for allegedly using his position of power to bribe an elected city official in order to enrich himself and a client,” said Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “As these actions erode the public’s trust and harm the communities these officials were elected to serve, FBI Los Angeles will continue to investigate them and those individuals who enable their corrupt schemes.”
“Mr. Galvan, a former Compton City Councilman, and Mr. Bai are accused of undermining the process of fair and open competition when they by allegedly paying bribes to Baldwin Park City Councilman Ricardo Pacheco in exchange for securing marijuana permits for Mr. Bai’s corporation, W&F International,” said Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. “City Councilmen, hold positions of trust. That trust is broken when these public officials commit crimes like bribery, but when they do IRS Criminal Investigation, and our law enforcement partners will be there to seek justice on behalf of the citizens.”
In June 2017, Baldwin Park began permitting the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of marijuana within its city limits. Soon afterward, then-Baldwin Park City Councilman Ricardo Pacheco, 60, of Baldwin Park, began soliciting bribes from businesses seeking marijuana development agreements and related permits in the city, according to court documents. In exchange for the illicit payments, Pacheco agreed to use his position in city government to assist the companies with obtaining marijuana permits, including voting in their favor.
According to the indictment, Galvan first paid Pacheco a $10,000 bribe in August 2017 to secure Pacheco’s support for a future consulting client’s marijuana permit. Then, after securing W&F as a client, Galvan facilitated $70,000 in bribes from Bai to Pacheco. Pacheco served on Baldwin Park’s city council from 1997 until his resignation in June 2020, and he was the city’s mayor pro tempore in 2018. Galvan allegedly paid the bribes in exchange for Pacheco’s political support of and promise to deliver Baldwin Park’s approval of marijuana permits for W&F. Pacheco then delivered, voting in favor of W&F’s marijuana permit and later voting in favor of W&F’s bid to relocate its operations.
Throughout the scheme, Galvan and Bai allegedly took steps to cover up their illegal payments to Pacheco by concealing Bai and W&F’s connection to the payments for Pacheco. For example, Bai collected checks from third parties who owed him money and then – at Galvan’s direction – gave Galvan the checks with blank payee lines. Galvan then gave the checks to Pacheco, who then arranged for them to be cashed, either by him or third parties.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted of all charges, Galvan and Bai would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count, up to 10 years in federal prison for the bribery count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each honest services wire fraud count.
Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one count of bribery for accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes – including $20,000 in cash – from a Baldwin Park Police officer working at the FBI’s direction, in exchange for the councilmember’s political support of the Baldwin Park Police Association’s contract with the city. Pacheco’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 17, 2024.
In November 2022, prosecutors secured a guilty plea to a bribery charge from Gabriel Chavez, 66, of Upland, a former San Bernardino County planning commissioner who admitted to funneling bribes through his company to Pacheco in exchange for the politician’s votes and influence over the city’s cannabis permitting process. Chavez’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 11.
Both Chavez and Pacheco have signed plea agreements in which they have agreed to cooperate in the government’s ongoing investigation.
The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas F. Rybarczyk, Michael J. Morse, and Lindsey Greer Dotson of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section are prosecuting this case.
Any member of the public who has information related to this or any other public corruption matter is encouraged to send information to the FBI’s tip line at tips.fbi.gov or to contact the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office at (310) 477-6565.
Former Fresno Sleep Clinic Owner Pleads Guilty to Submitting over $1 Million in Fraudulent Claims for Sleep Studies to MedicareRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — Travis Gober, 44, of Hanford, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and aggravated identity theft charges today for submitting over $1 million in fraudulent claims for sleep studies to Medicare, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court records, Gober owned the VIP Sleep Center, which operated sleep clinics in Fresno and Tulare Counties. Sleep clinics perform diagnostic sleep studies on patients to identify disorders like sleep apnea and narcolepsy.
From October 2019 through September 2021, Gober caused the VIP Sleep Center to submit thousands of claims to Medicare, which is a federally funded health care insurance program, for sleep studies that were not actually performed on patients. The claims also falsely stated that the patients had been referred for the sleep studies by physicians with whom Gober had previously worked. This was done because Medicare will not pay for a sleep study unless the patient was referred by a physician.
Gober committed this fraud, at least in part, to try to pay debts and address other financial difficulties that his brother, Jeremy Gober, had caused the VIP Sleep Center and him to incur without his knowledge or consent.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the California Department of Health Care Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case.
Travis Gober is scheduled to be sentenced by Jennifer L. Thurston on Jan. 16, 2024. Gober faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison for the health care fraud conviction, and an additional, mandatory two years in prison for the identity theft conviction. His actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Travis Gober’s brother, Jeremy Gober, was previously charged with health care fraud and identity theft related to other sleep clinics in the Central Valley in December 2022. The charges are only allegations. Jeremy Gober is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Former Doctor Sentenced to 18 Months in Federal Prison for Illegally Selling Opioid Painkillers for Cash at His High Desert Medical ClinicRead the Press Release
LOS ANGELES – A former physician was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison for illegally prescribing and distributing the semi-synthetic opioid painkiller oxycodone to buyers who visited his Victorville medical office.
Wendell Mark Street, 71, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu.
Street pleaded guilty in August 2019 to two counts of knowingly and intentionally prescribing and distributing oxycodone to patients without a legitimate medical purpose.
While Street was a licensed anesthesiologist, on August 1, 2013, he sold two prescriptions for $300 each to a confidential informant and an undercover investigator with the California Medical Board. The pills contained the opioid oxycodone and alprazolam, which has the brand name Xanax.
He wrote the prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose and intentionally acted outside the usual course of professional practice, including by failing to conduct a physical examination, establish diagnostic testing, provide a treatment plan, and create documentation to establish a medication indication for the prescriptions.
The investigation showed that Street prescribed 7,769 prescriptions for narcotics, including 437,000 doses of oxycodone, from November 2012 to November 2013.
In April 2016, Street surrendered his medical license.
“A doctor holds a position of trust over his patients and with the government, which grants him the authority to write prescriptions for controlled substances for the medical needs of his patients,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “[Street] violated his position of trust by selling prescription, thereby placing the lives of his patients at risk.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Jason C. Pang of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.
Former Crawford County Substitute Teacher Sentenced to Ten Months in Federal Prison for Sending Hoax Bomb Threats to Two Indiana Schools and A NewspaperRead the Press Release
NEW ALBANY- Mary Fortner, 35, of Milltown, Indiana, has been sentenced to ten months in federal prison after pleading guilty to two-counts of making hoax bomb threats.
According to court documents, on January 19, 2023, Mary Fortner sent a bomb threat to a Milltown, Indiana, police officer using an anonymous messaging application. The threat targeted a Crawford County school, where she was employed as a substitute teacher at the time.
That same day, FBI agents and Crawford County Sheriff’s Deputies interviewed Fortner at her residence and executed a search warrant, recovering her cell phone and other devices. During multiple interviews with law enforcement officials, Mary Fortner denied any knowledge of the bomb threat.
On February 21, 2023, Fortner sent an email to the Corydon Democrat, a local news outlet in Corydon, Indiana, again threatening to bomb a list of several addresses, including Milltown Elementary School in Milltown, Indiana and the Corydon Cinemas.
Later that evening, the HCSD executed a search warrant at the Fortner’s residence and took her into custody. The FBI determined that the threat came from a mobile device that had been factory reset in attempt to conceal the crime.
“This series of bomb threats shook the sense of safety that all of our children, teachers, and families deserve—and are especially egregious coming from an adult trusted to educate our children,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers. “These hoax threats needlessly caused an urgent and expansive law enforcement response. I commend the FBI, Harrison and Crawford County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Milltown Police Department for working together to quickly identify the perpetrator. The federal prison sentence imposed here demonstrates that threats of violence and terror are serious crimes that will not be tolerated in our communities.”
“The Crawford County Sheriff’s Department would like to thank all the departments involved in resolving this case.,” said Crawford County Sheriff, Jeff Howell. “School safety should be a high priority for all agencies. Our nation’s youth is our greatest treasure. A special thanks to the Assistant U.S. Attorneys and federal agencies for their work ensuring that justice was served.”
The FBI, Crawford and Harrison County Sheriffs’ Offices, and Milltown Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge, Sarah Evans Barker. Judge Barker also ordered that Fortner be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following her release from federal prison, the first two months to be served on home detention.
U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Rinka and Kathryn Olivier, who prosecuted this case.
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Foreign National Extradited from Mexico to the United States to Face International Cocaine and Methamphetamine Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
A Mexican national made his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today to face international cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking and weapons charges.
On July 19, 2021, a grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment against Edgar Fabian Villasenor Garcia, aka Gary and el Monje, 52. At the time of his indictment, Villasenor Garcia was already in Mexican custody, having been arrested by Mexican authorities on April 2, 2020, based on local charges. While in Mexican custody, Villasenor Garcia was served with a separate warrant based on a U.S. extradition request, and he remained detained in Mexico pending his extradition. He was extradited from Mexico to the United States on Sept. 15.
Villasenor Garcia is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, knowing and intending and having reasonable cause to believe that those controlled substances would be unlawfully imported into the United States. He is also charged with knowingly and intentionally using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in the furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. If convicted, Villasenor Garcia faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of life in prison.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram made the announcement.
The DEA’s Los Angeles Division investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Kate Naseef of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section is prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Office of Enforcement Operations, and the U.S. Marshals Service provided substantial assistance in the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding D.C. Mortgage Assistance and Foreclosure Prevention ProgramRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Maron Moss, Jr., 49, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to one count of first-degree fraud for a scheme in which he stole more than $31,920 from the District of Columbia’s HomeSaver program, a foreclosure prevention program administered by the D.C. Housing Finance Agency and funded by the U.S. Department of Treasury. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Principal Deputy Inspector General Melissa Bruce, of the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and Inspector General for the District of Columbia Daniel W. Lucas made the announcement.
According to the government’s evidence, Moss, a former DC resident, applied for mortgage assistance for his Washington, D.C. home in 2018, and then submitted recertifications for continued program eligibility on six separate occasions between 2018 and 2019. Moss represented that he was suffering from financial hardship, was unemployed, and that his only source of income was unemployment benefits. Based on these representations, the D.C. Housing Finance Agency made more than $31,920 in monthly mortgage payments directly to Moss’s mortgage service companies. But Moss was, in fact, employed when he applied for the program, as well as during the entire period that he recertified his program eligibility, earning approximately $239,743 in income from at least five different employers during the relevant 20-month period.
The Honorable Heidi Pasichow accepted Moss’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for December 5, 2023. As part of the plea agreement, Moss agreed to pay full restitution.
In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Graves, Principal Deputy Inspector General Bruce, and Inspector General Lucas commended the work of those who investigated the case from SIGTARP and the Office of Inspector General. They also acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin D. Bleiberg and Brian P. Kelly who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Felon Pleads Guilty to Possessing Homemade FirearmRead the Press Release
A man who was found in possession of a homemade firearm pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Som Boun Cam, age 56, from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was convicted of possessing a smooth bore, .410 gauge pistol, which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
In a plea agreement, Cam admitted that on April 14, 2022, he was in the Meskwaki Casino hotel when he was involved in a scuffle with another guest and misplaced his backpack. Hotel staff subsequently found the backpack, and when they looked in it, they found methamphetamine and a homemade smooth bore .410 gauge pistol. On April 19, 2022, Cam returned to the hotel to claim his property. Cam admitted he had manufactured the firearm. This was a firearm that was required to be registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, but it was not registered to him. Cam has a 1995 felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and methamphetamine, a 2017 felony conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon, and multiple assault convictions.
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.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Cam will remain in custody pending sentencing. Cam faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Reinert and was investigated by the Meskwaki Nation Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-00050.
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Exporting business pays to resolve allegations it failed to screen cargoRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – An exporting and logistics business has agreed to pay $50,000 to resolve allegations it insufficiently screened cargo bound for export to Central America, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Interport Company Inc. is registered in Illinois and Florida. It maintains an office in Houston and ships goods and vehicles from Freeport and the Port of Houston.
Exporters such as Interport are required to submit electronic filings containing certain information for each international shipment pursuant to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations. As part of that process, they are required to screen shipments for firearms and ammunition. They must also provide vehicle identification numbers (VIN) for any vehicles in their shipments.
During 2020 and 2021, authorities inspected various shipping containers destined for Central America that Interport had loaded. Those inspections revealed hidden firearms and ammunition contained within customer goods, along with vehicles whose VINs differed from the ones Interport had submitted on electronic forms. As a result, CBP assessed civil penalties for each violation it discovered.
Interport agreed to pay $50,000 to satisfy those penalties without litigation and to enhance its screening of customer shipments in the future. As part of the settlement, Interport must meet on a quarterly basis with CBP representatives at the Port of Houston to discuss additional compliance measures.
CBP conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Gray and Auditor Matt Prahl handled the matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Connecticut Man Admits $2.19 Million Fraud Scheme Involving Kickbacks from Two French DistilleriesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Connecticut man today admitted orchestrating a $2.19 million scheme to defraud an alcohol company and its owner by causing them to overpay for champagne and cognac and collecting kickbacks based on the inflated prices, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Mitchell E. Green, 44, of Westport, Connecticut, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud.
“Though he was supposed to negotiate the best deal possible for his employer, Green set up secret side deals to inflate what his employer paid so that he could reap millions of dollars in kickbacks. Companies must be able to rely on the integrity of their agents to conduct business. When employees violate that trust and engage in fraud -- like the defendant did here -- this Office and our law enforcement partners are prepared to hold them accountable.”
U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger
“As Green has discovered, there’s no such thing as easy money,” FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “The FBI works tirelessly to ensure that the consequences for this type of fraud far outweigh the initial payout.”
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:
From June 2017 through February 2020, Green worked for a Hoboken, New Jersey-based liquor company owned by an internationally recognized music artist, producer, and entrepreneur. Green secretly negotiated side agreements with two French distilleries to pay him kickbacks through his company, Q Branch LLC, for each bottle of champagne and cognac that Green’s employer purchased from the distilleries. Green caused his employer to unknowingly pay the cost of his kickbacks by hiding it in the per-bottle price that the distilleries charged for the champagne and cognac. Based on those inflated prices, Green’s employer paid $14.8 million for the champagne and cognac, and Green collected $2.19 million in hidden kickbacks from the French champagne and cognac distilleries.
The charge of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000, twice the gross profits or twice the gross loss suffered to the victims of his offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Blake Coppotelli of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit and Ari B. Fontecchio of the Special Prosecutions Division..
green.information.pdfColombian National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry into the United StatesRead the Press Release
CONCORD – A previously removed Colombian national pleaded guilty in federal court in connection to his illegal reentry into the United States after being deported in 2013, United States Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Jheisson Rizo Suarez, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of reentry after deportation. U.S. District Court Judge Landya B. McCafferty scheduled sentencing for January 4, 2024. Suarez was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 21, 2023.
On July 9, 2021, the defendant was arrested by the Dover Police Department in connection with a residential burglary in progress. A juvenile female, who was home alone and hiding under a bed, called 911 and whispered that an unknown number of individuals had forced entry into her home. The subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant was illegally in the United States, after having been previously deported on or about January 28, 2013.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Dover Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement led the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Ward.
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Chief Engineer Sentenced to More Than a Year in Prison for Obstruction of Justice and Oil Dumping OffensesRead the Press Release
Chief engineer Denys Korotkiy of the vessel Donald was sentenced on Sept. 15 to serve twelve months and a day in prison after being convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and failure to maintain an accurate oil record book. U.S. District Court Judge Todd W. Robinson for the Southern District of California sentenced Korotkiy.
Trial evidence showed that oily bilge water – typically containing oil contamination from cleaning and operating a vessel’s machinery – was illegally dumped from the Donald, without being legally recorded, directly into the ocean through the vessel’s sewage tank and not properly processed through required pollution prevention equipment. Korotkiy made false and fictitious entries in the oil record book claiming oily bilge had been transferred from the engine room bilge wells to the bilge holding tank. He also conspired with others to obstruct the U.S. Coast Guard from inspecting and investigating the mishandling of oily bilge water on the Donald.
Vessel operating company Interunity Management (Deutschland) GMBH previously pleaded guilty for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oily bilge water and was ordered to pay a total of $1.25 million, including more than $312,000 to benefit marine and coastal natural resources in or near the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Haden for the Southern District of California made the announcement.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Stephen Da Ponte of the Environment and Natural Resources Division's Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson for the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.
Canadian Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking CrimesRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Christopher Frater, 30, of Ontario, Canada, was sentenced on September 14, 2023, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Frater to 120 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release.
On July 13, 2022, Omaha Police Department officers working on I-80 in Sarpy County observed a 2021 Nissan Maxima with Virginia license plates commit several traffic violations. As a result, officers pulled over the vehicle driven by Frater. During the traffic stop, the officer learned that the defendant was driving a rental vehicle, one way from Los Angeles, California, to New York.
Frater made inconsistent statements about the purpose and timing of his travel which raised the officer’s suspicions. As a result, a K-9 sniff of the rental vehicle occurred and the K-9 positively alerted to the scent of narcotics in the vehicle.
In the trunk of the car, officers found three Home Depot boxes containing more than 125 pounds of cocaine that was laboratory confirmed as to both weight and substance.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Omaha Field Division, and the Omaha Police Department.
Bloomington Fugitive Arrested, Extradited on Child Pornography, Enticement, and Identity Theft ChargesRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Bloomington fugitive has been arrested and extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on child pornography, child enticement, and identity theft charges, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, between October 2020 through September 2022, Ibrahim Ghassan Sleyman, 30, used Snapchat and other messaging apps to solicit sexually explicit material and sex acts from minors, some as young as nine-years-old. Additionally, Sleyman groomed and enticed a minor victim to produce child pornography and engage in sexual activity with Sleyman by providing the minor with drugs and gifts. Once Sleyman became aware of law enforcement’s ongoing investigation, he fled to Abu Dhabi, UAE, on September 6, 2022.
On September 15, 2023, upon his return to the United States, Sleyman was taken into federal custody by the FBI. The indictment charges Sleyman with production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, enticement of a minor, transfer of obscene material to a minor, and identity theft. He made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Jon Huseby and was ordered to remain in custody pending trial.
To date, law enforcement has identified several minor victims, and is actively attempting to confirm the identity of many others. If you believe you or your minor dependent(s) have been victimized by Ibrahim Sleyman, please contact the FBI Tip Line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.
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. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Elk River Police Department, and the Pleasant Hill, Missouri Police Department, with assistance from the St. Paul Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the State Department, the Ministries of Justice and Interior of the United Arab Emirates, UAE Interpol, Abu Dhabi Airport Police and Abu Dhabi International Airport – Airport Security provided significant support and assistance in Sleyman’s extradition from the United Arab Emirates.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary A. Taylor is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Billings man admits obstructing justice by witness retaliationRead the Press Release
GREAT FALLS — A Billings man accused of harassing and threatening witnesses in Browning, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, in an ongoing federal investigation admitted to obstruction charges today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Jesse Ray Blackman, 41, pleaded guilty to two counts of obstructing justice by retaliating against a witness as charged in a superseding indictment. Blackman faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The court set sentencing for Jan. 31, 2024. Blackman was detained pending further proceedings.
In court documents, the government alleged that beginning in October 2022, Blackman maintained an ongoing campaign of harassment against his ex-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe, and her boyfriend, identified as John Doe, in Browning. Using the Messenger feature of Facebook, Blackman sent messages from multiple Facebook accounts to Jane Doe, threatening to harm both her and John Doe. Blackman also called Jane Doe’s place of employment multiple times a day and threatened her. In December 2022, Jane Doe obtained a restraining order against Blackman from the Blackfeet Tribal Court. The order enjoined the parties from having verbal and physical contact, but the threats continued. In March 2023, an FBI agent interviewed Blackman about his conduct. Blackman admitted to using Facebook to send messages to Jane Doe and that the messages could be viewed as threats. The agent advised Blackman that Jane Doe and John Doe were witnesses in an ongoing federal investigation, and that threats against them as witnesses could be criminal. The agents advised Blackman to cease all contact with them. Blackman contacted both Jane Doe and John Doe in April with the intent to retaliate against them for information they gave to law enforcement relating to the threats. In a phone call to Jane Doe on April 4, Blackman said, “I can’t believe what you did to me! You’re going to pay for it bitch!”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah A. Paisley is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, with assistance from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, conducted the investigation.
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Attorney Pleads Guilty to Operating $18.8 Million Ponzi Scheme and to Money Laundering, Obstruction of Justice, and Perjury ChargesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced that ROBERT WISNICKI pled guilty today to participating in a $18.8 million Ponzi scheme designed to lure investors to purchase real estate through his New York-based law firms, Wisnicki & Associates LLP and Wisnicki Neuhauser LLP (the “Wisnicki Firms”). WISNICKI also pled guilty to a separate conspiracy to commit money laundering using his law firm trust accounts to conceal the proceeds of healthcare fraud, during which WISNICKI obstructed justice and committed perjury while testifying before a grand jury.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As he has now admitted, Robert Wisnicki committed a wide array of criminal acts as part of multiple schemes designed to line his own pockets and cover his tracks. As a practicing attorney, Wisnicki knew better, but he flouted the law anyway, even going so far as to obstruct justice and commit perjury while testifying before a grand jury. Wisnicki now potentially faces years in prison and will pay millions in forfeiture and restitution to atone for his crimes.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said: “Illegal activity involving the investment industry, especially Ponzi schemes, has unfortunately brought financial ruin to many Americans. While Wisnicki’s actions are unacceptable, they are even more egregious considering his position of trust as an attorney. The FBI will continue to work closely with our partners to pursue and prosecute individuals who offer victims false promises and take advantage for their own personal benefit.”
If you believe you are a victim of these crimes, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI and reference this case.
According to the Indictment, plea agreement, and statements made in court:
The Ponzi Scheme
The Wisnicki Firms specialized in real estate transactional work — namely, assisting clients with purchasing and selling property. In or about 2007, WISNICKI began a real estate investment business using the Wisnicki Firms. Existing clients of the Wisnicki Firms (“Investor Clients”) asked WISNICKI to identify potential real estate investment opportunities for them. The Investor Clients then either transferred funds to WISNICKI or asked him to retain their funds that were already held in the Wisnicki Firms’ Interest Only Lawyers Accounts (“IOLA”) accounts. WISNICKI then identified real estate investment opportunities for the Investor Clients, and the Wisnicki Firms represented the Investor Clients in the resulting investment transactions.
The Investor Clients began suffering losses in the investments that WISNICKI had arranged. Rather than notify the Investor Clients of their losses, WISNICKI used funds from the Wisnicki Firms’ clients who did not participate in the real estate investments, which were held in trust in the Firms’ IOLA accounts, and transferred those funds to the Investor Clients to mask their losses. WISNICKI falsely represented to these other clients that their funds were still held in the Wisnicki Firms’ IOLA accounts, when in fact he had transferred those funds to his Investor Clients.
WISNICKI also used funds from new Investor Clients to cover up losses suffered by prior Investor Clients. WISNICKI falsely told the new Investor Clients that their funds would be invested in real estate, when in fact he used those funds to repay his prior Investor Clients.
WISNICKI continued the above-described fraud through at least in or about 2022. WISNICKI owes approximately $18.8 million to certain Investor Clients, which includes approximately $6.3 million to members of his family and approximately $12.5 million to non-family members. He is also owed approximately $6.7 million by various former clients.
The Money Laundering, Obstruction, and Perjury Scheme
New York and New Jersey no-fault insurance laws require a driver’s automobile insurance company to pay automobile insurance claims automatically for certain types of motor vehicle accidents, provided that the claim is legitimate and is below a particular monetary threshold (the “No-Fault Laws”). Pursuant to these requirements, insurance companies will often pay medical service providers directly for the treatment they provide to automobile accident victims without the need to bill the victims themselves. This process resolves automobile claims without apportioning blame or fault for the accident, thereby avoiding protracted disputes and the costs associated with an extended investigation of the accident.
Beginning in or about 2014, a criminal organization (the “Gulkarov Conspiracy” or the “Gulkarov Conspirators”) began a scheme to exploit the No-Fault Laws. As part of the scheme, the Gulkarov Conspirators fraudulently owned and controlled more than a dozen medical professional corporations – including medical, acupuncture, and chiropractic practices – by paying licensed medical professionals to use their licenses to incorporate the professional corporations (collectively, the “Gulkarov Clinics”). The Gulkarov Conspirators further defrauded automobile insurance companies by billing insurance companies for unnecessary, harmful, and excessive medical treatments and lying under oath to insurance company representatives.
The Gulkarov Conspirators laundered the proceeds of the healthcare fraud through, among other ways, the Wisnicki Firms. In or about 2016 and 2017, one of the Gulkarov Conspirators (“CC-1”), using checks, transferred funds from the Gulkarov Clinics to the Wisnicki Firms. WISNICKI deposited the checks into one of his IOLA accounts, despite the fact that the Wisnicki Firms did not represent the Gulkarov Clinics and had no attorney-client relationship with the Gulkarov Conspirators. The Gulkarov Conspirators then arranged for the Wisnicki Firms to use the healthcare fraud proceeds to pay for real estate on behalf of the leaders of the Gulkarov Conspiracy.
In or about April 2021, the Wisnicki Firms were served with a subpoena from a grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York (the “Subpoena”). Among other things, the Subpoena required the Wisnicki Firms to produce documentation concerning the checks from the Gulkarov Clinics. WISNICKI then communicated with CC-1 and learned that the proceeds of the checks were the proceeds of unlawful activity.
WISNICKI, CC-1, and a second member of the Gulkarov Conspiracy (“CC-2”) agreed to respond to the Subpoena by submitting fabricated documents to the grand jury, lying in communications with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and committing perjury before the grand jury.
WISNICKI, CC-1, and CC-2 further agreed to re-launder the proceeds of the checks from the Gulkarov Clinics in response to the Subpoena. At the direction of CC-1, WISNICKI wrote checks, drawn on his IOLA, purporting to return the monies that had been previously paid to his firm. The checks were made payable to physicians who purported to be owners of the Gulkarov Clinics and to family members of the Gulkarov Conspirators (together, the “Payees”). WISNICKI wrote the checks under the false pretense that the Payees were clients of the Wisnicki Firms who had previously paid money to the Wisnicki Firms for legal services. WISNICKI and others agreed that the checks to the Payees would be deposited, and the funds would then be withdrawn and returned to the Wisnicki Firms. WISNICKI delivered the checks to CC-1 for this purpose.
Thereafter, on or about April 19, 2021, WISNICKI submitted to the grand jury over a dozen fabricated retainer agreements. The same day, WISNICKI falsely stated to the U.S. Attorney’s Office that the funds paid to the Wisnicki Firms “were originally supposed to be used for a [sic] retainer fees, which is why the agreements were originally prepared,” but that the clients ultimately “instead asked us to hold the funds to be used for future investments.” WISNICKI further represented that the Wisnicki Firms decided to return the retainer fees after receiving the Subpoena.
On or about July 6, 2021, WISNICKI was called to appear before the grand jury as custodian of records for the Wisnicki Firms. WISNICKI falsely testified to the grand jury, among other things, that payments to the Wisnicki Firms had been made for the purpose of opening a “lending platform” that was never completed, and that WISNICKI had not spoken to anyone outside of the Wisnicki Firms about the Subpoena.
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ROBERT WISNICKI, 44, of Forest Hills, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, WISNICKI agreed to pay forfeiture of $19,010,548.06 and restitution of $18,800,000.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
Mr. Williams praised the work of the FBI.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit and the White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mathew Andrews, Timothy Capozzi, and Ryan Allison are in charge of the prosecution.
Alleged High-Ranking Member of Sinaloa Cartel Arraigned on Federal Charges Following Extradition from Mexico to the U.S.Read the Press Release
CHICAGO – OVIDIO GUZMAN LOPEZ, 33, of Culiacan, Mexico, was arraigned in federal court in Chicago today after his extradition last week from Mexico to the United States. Guzman Lopez was arrested in Mexico earlier this year pursuant to a U.S. request for his provisional arrest with a view toward extradition.
Guzman Lopez, also known as "El Raton" and "Raton Nuevo," is charged in the Northern District of Illinois with five-counts in a nine-count superseding indictment alleging that from 2008 to 2021, he engaged in a drug trafficking Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE), along with additional drug, money laundering, and firearm offenses. Guzman Lopez is charged with conspiring to distribute narcotics from Mexico and elsewhere for importation into the U.S. He pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment today before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Chicago. He waived his right to a detention hearing and was ordered to remain detained without bond.
The charges stem from a decades-long collaboration between the Justice Department's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and prosecutors from the Northern District of Illinois and Southern District of California, as well as their law enforcement partners. Guzman Lopez is one of the sons of Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as "El Chapo," who was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of New York for his role as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Following Guzman Loera’s arrest in January 2016 and his subsequent extradition to the United States, Guzman Lopez and his three brothers and co-defendants - IVAN ARCHIVALDO GUZMAN SALAZAR, JESUS ALFREDO GUZMAN SALAZAR, and JOAQUIN GUZMAN LOPEZ, collectively known as “the Chapitos” - allegedly assumed their father’s role as leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. The Chapitos subsequently amassed greater control over the Sinaloa Cartel by allegedly threatening and causing violence, the indictment alleges.
Under the terms of the U.S.-Mexico extradition treaty, the United States had up to 60 days to present a fully supported request, one in compliance with the terms of the treaty. The United States submitted that request in February 2023. A Mexican court reviewed the U.S. request and last month favorably recommended his extradition. The Foreign Ministry reviewed the decision and similarly concluded that Guzman Lopez should be extradited to the United States. The three co-defendants remain at large.
The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Luis Quesada, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, Katrina W. Berger, Executive Associate Director of Homeland Security Investigations, and Anne Milgram, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Substantial assistance in the investigation was provided by IRS Criminal Investigation, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Office of Enforcement Operations, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Erskine and Erika Csicsila of the Northern District of Illinois, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Sutton of the Southern District of California, and Trial Attorney Kirk Handrich of NDDS.
The case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug trafficking organizations and other criminal networks that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local enforcement agencies.
The Justice Department thanks the Government of Mexico, including the Mexican Foreign Ministry and the Mexican Attorney General’s Office, for the extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez. Earlier today, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland spoke by phone with Mexico’s Attorney General, Alejandro Gertz Manero, to personally express his gratitude.
The public is reminded that an indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Guzman Lopez et al indictment
Sunday 17 September 2023
Yankton Woman Sentenced for Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and SubterfugeRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Yankton, South Dakota, woman convicted of Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception, and Subterfuge. The sentencing took place on September 11, 2023.
Lisa Merrigan, age 55, was sentenced to two years of probation and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Merrigan was indicted by a federal grand jury in October of 2022. She pleaded guilty on July 5, 2023.
The conviction stemmed from incidents between June 19, 2021, and September 11, 2021. Merrigan, worked as a registered nurse at a hospital in Chamberlain, South Dakota, during that time period. Merrigan tampered with a vial of fentanyl citrate for injection properly stored within the hospital, by removing the fentanyl citrate for injection from the vial and replacing the majority of it with saline solution. Merrigan then returned the tampered vial to storage, knowing that the diluted fentanyl citrate for injection could be dispensed to surgical patients at the hospital. Fentanyl citrate is a Schedule II controlled substance that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use to relieve severe pain during and after surgery. The fentanyl in the tampered vial was so diluted that had the vial been dispensed to a surgical patient, the pain management would have been minimal or unsuccessful.
This case was investigated by the FDA, Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.
Wounded Knee Man Found Guilty of MurderRead the Press Release
RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Spencer High Hawk, age 27, of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, of Aiding and Abetting Second Degree Murder, following a four-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on September 8, 2023.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
High Hawk was indicted by a federal grand jury in July of 2022.
Evidence at trial established that High Hawk beat another man to death near Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in June of 2022.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Lindrooth and Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.
A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for December 1, 2023. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Watertown Man Sentenced for Failure to Register as a Sex OffenderRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced a Watertown, South Dakota, man convicted of Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. The sentencing took place on August 28, 2023.
William Dean Locke, age 35, was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Locke was indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2023. He pleaded guilty on June 5, 2023.
The conviction stems from Locke failing to register as a sex offender as required by state law between December 30, 2021, and October 19, 2022. Locke had previously been convicted of a sex offense in state court which requires him to register for the rest of his life.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman 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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Locke was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Todd County Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a MinorRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Todd County, South Dakota, man convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact With a Child. The sentencing took place on September 12, 2023.
Kevin Sharkey, age 46, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Sharkey was indicted by a federal grand jury in May of 2022. He pleaded guilty on June 14, 2023.
The conviction stems from conduct that occurred between March 1, 2017, and August 31, 2017, in Todd County, wherein Sharkey engaged in a sexual contact with a child who had not attained the age of 12 years.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was 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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Sharkey was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
St. Francis Man Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous WeaponRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a St. Francis, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault With a Dangerous Weapon. The sentencing took place on September 12, 2023.
Albert Guerue, age 43, was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Guerue was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2022. He pleaded guilty on June 14, 2023.
The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on April 7, 2022, in Todd County, South Dakota. On that date, Guerue was consuming alcoholic beverages at the residence of the victim, an adult woman. Guerue became angry and threatened to kill the victim. Guerue then assaulted the victim by punching her with his fists, kicking her legs with shod feet, and striking her with a metal bar. The victim suffered lacerations to her head and face that required medical attention.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.
This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.
Guerue was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Sioux Falls Man Sentenced for Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of ViolenceRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Brandishing a Firearm During a Federal Crime of Violence. The sentencing took place on September 11, 2023.
Samuel Oreoluwa Roberts, 24, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Roberts was indicted for Interference with Commerce by Threats and Violence as well as Brandishing a Firearm During a Federal Crime of Violence by a federal grand jury in July of 2022. He pleaded guilty on July 3, 2023.
Roberts robbed the Get-n-Go gas station and convenience store on March 29, 2022, using a pistol to demand money from the store employees. Roberts stole $245 in cash.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert, who also serves as a prosecutor with the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office.
Roberts was ordered to remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service for transport to the Bureau of Prisons.
North Dakota Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of an Unregistered FirearmRead the Press Release
PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange, U.S. District Court, has sentenced a Mandan, North Dakota, woman convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm. The sentencing took place on September 11, 2023.
Sarah Jahner Clifford, age 45, was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, a $1,000 fine, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $200.
Clifford was indicted by a federal grand jury in September of 2022. She pleaded guilty on December 8, 2022.
The conviction stemmed from a drug conspiracy beginning in January of 2021 and continuing until July of 2022. Clifford was involved in an extensive conspiracy with several other individuals to distribute methamphetamine in and around the central South Dakota area, including on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation and the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. Clifford received significant quantities of methamphetamine from sources in Denver, Colorado. Clifford and others would transport the methamphetamine back to South Dakota where it was sold by Clifford and those working for her.
As part of the conspiracy Clifford possessed various firearms, including a Stevens Arms shogun and a Raven Arms pistol. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) confirmed the shotgun has a barrel length of 14 inches and is not registered to Clifford in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by law. Further, Clifford is a felon and prohibited from possessing any firearms.
This case was investigated by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Northern Plains Safe Trains Drug Enforcement Task Force, and ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges 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.
Clifford was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Nebraska Woman Sentenced for Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Winnebago, Nebraska, woman convicted of Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer. The sentencing took place on August 28, 2023.
Trista Whitewater, age 33, was sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Whitewater was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2022. She pleaded guilty on June 23, 2023.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on June 8, 2023, when Whitewater, who was booked at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Yankton Sioux Correctional Facility in Wagner for several tribal charges, assaulted a Lead Correctional Officer. After causing a disruption in her pod, Whitewater threatened to hit the Lead Correctional Officer and then fought with the Lead Correctional Officer and other correctional officers, including swinging her fists and scratching the officers, resulting in scratches on the Lead Correctional Officer’s face and her glasses being broken.
This case was investigated by the BIA. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case.
This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in federal court as opposed to State court.
Whitewater was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.