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Friday 28 July 2023
Justice Department Sues to Shut Down Florida Tax Return PreparersRead the Press Release
The United States filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against George Brito, Luis Brito, and Brito and Brito Accounting USA, Inc. The civil complaint seeks to enjoin the defendants from preparing federal tax returns for others.
The civil complaint alleges that the defendants George Brito and Luis Brito have worked as tax return preparers for almost thirty years, and since 2019 have prepared thousands of tax returns annually. The complaint alleges that the defendants prepare returns that understate their customers’ tax liabilities and overstate their refunds. According to the complaint, the defendants’ unlawful schemes include deducting ineligible expenses as itemized deductions; claiming false or inflated business expenses and losses; and fabricating residential energy credits without any factual basis to claim them.
As alleged in the complaint, the defendants have caused the United States to issue inflated refunds that defendants’ customers were not entitled to receive and to lose tax revenue. The complaint further alleges that the defendants’ conduct harmed their customers who pay substantial fees for what they believe to be honest return preparation services, but eventually learn that they owe money to the IRS because of the inaccuracies reported on their returns.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement.
Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers as return preparer fraud is one of the IRS’s Dirty Dozen Tax Scams. The IRS offers tips on how to accurately file returns and how to choose a tax return preparer, as well as steps taxpayers can take to get a jumpstart on filing. The IRS has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers and offers information on how to avoid “ghost” tax preparers, whose refusal to sign a return should be a red flag to taxpayers.
In addition, IRS Free File, a public-private partnership, offers free online tax preparation and filing options on IRS partner websites for individuals whose adjusted gross income is under $73,000. For individuals whose income is over that threshold, IRS Free File offers electronical federal tax forms that can be filled out and filed online for free.
In the past decade, the Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website. An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found here.
Jackson Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Convicted Felon in Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
According to court documents, Samuel McCray, 35, was found in possession of a firearm by a Jackson Police Officer on April 16, 2022, during an investigation into a domestic abuse incident. McCray has a prior felony conviction and is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
McCray will be sentenced on November 3, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the FBI and the Jackson Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jessica S. Terrill.
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.
Informational: Federal Court arraignmentsRead the Press Release
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt:
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on July 27 was:
Leota Lynn Beartusk-Martinez, 38, a transient, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, Beartusk-Martinez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Beartusk-Martinez was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 22-130.
Derry Jerel Howard, 42, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Howard faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release on the drug charges and a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Howard was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-86.
Shaynee Renee Gibbs, 45, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gibbs faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Gibbs was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Billings Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, Laurel Police Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and Montana Highway Patrol conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 23-39.
Dawn Marie Guevara, aka Dawn Marie Owen, 42, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Guevara faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. Guevara was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 19-01.
Appearing on July 25 was:
Sean Wesley Colwell, 43, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Colwell faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Colwell was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-76.
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on July 28 was:
Raymond Perez Ramos, 30, of Long Beach, California, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ramos faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Ramos was released pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Service and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-13.
The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
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Indian Citizen Pleads Guilty to Multiple Counts of Alien Smuggling and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK – Simranjit Singh, age 40, a citizen of India living in Canada, pled guilty today to alien smuggling and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. At the request of the United States, Singh was taken into custody on June 28, 2022, in Ontario, Canada. Singh was extradited from Canada to the United States on March 30, 2023.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector, and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
In pleading guilty, Singh admitted that from at least March of 2020 through March of 2021, he facilitated the smuggling of numerous Indian nationals from Canada into the United States, via Cornwall Island and the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation in the St. Lawrence River region, for profit.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 28, 2023, before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino in Albany, New York, at which time Singh faces a mandatory term of 5 years in prison and up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. Singh will be subject to deportation following the conclusion of his sentence, which is determined by an immigration judge. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
This case was investigated by United States Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs.
Husband and Wife Plead Guilty to $65 Million TRICARE FraudRead the Press Release
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – July 28, 2023
SAN DIEGO - Jimmy and Ashley Collins, a married couple living in Birchwood, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that they participated in a health care fraud scheme that bilked TRICARE – the health care program that covers United States service members –out of more than $65 million.
The couple admitted they worked with others to recruit TRICARE beneficiaries who were willing to sign up to receive expensive compounded medications, even though the beneficiaries did not really need the medications. The beneficiaries’ information was sent to Choice MD, a Tennessee medical clinic co-owned and operated by the Collinses. Doctors and medical professionals employed by the Collinses at Choice MD, including Dr. Susan Vergot, Dr. Carl Lindblad, and nurse practitioner Candace Craven, then wrote prescriptions for the TRICARE beneficiaries, despite never conducting a medical review or examination of the patients in person. Once signed by the doctors, these prescriptions were not given to the straw beneficiaries, but sent directly to The Medicine Shoppe, a pharmacy in Bountiful, Utah, which filled the prescriptions and received massive reimbursement from TRICARE.
Between December 2014 and May 9, 2015 – the day that TRICARE stopped reimbursing for compounded medications – the doctors working for the Collinses at Choice MD authorized 4,442 prescriptions and billed TRICARE $65,679,512 for these prescriptions.
The owners of The Medicine Shoppe then paid kickbacks to the Collinses based on a percentage of the TRICARE reimbursement paid for the prescriptions referred by the Collinses’ recruiter network. Between February and July 2015, these kickback payments to the Collinses totaled at least $45.7 million dollars. The Collinses, in turn, paid kickbacks to the recruiters working as part of their network, including defendants Josh Morgan, Kyle Adams, and Daniel Castro, among others.
The United States has seized property and items purchased by the Collinses and others with the proceeds of the scheme. Included among these items is an 82-foot yacht; multiple luxury vehicles, including two Aston-Martins; a multimillion-dollar investment annuity; dozens of pieces of farm equipment and tractor-trailer trucks; and three pieces of Tennessee real estate.
The Collinses are the last members of the conspiracy to plead guilty. The doctors and nurse practitioner who prescribed these unnecessary prescriptions, the corporate owner of the pharmacy that filled these unneeded prescriptions, and the patient recruiters have all pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and admitted their roles in this fraudulent scheme.
“The scheme alleged in this case resulted in massive losses to a taxpayer-funded healthcare program meant to help members and veterans of our armed forces,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “The days of yachts and luxury cars are gone. With these guilty pleas, we are holding these defendants accountable for their crimes.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and investigating agencies for their excellent work on this case.
“The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to protecting the integrity of TRICARE, the health care system for our military members and their families,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Michael C. Mentavlos of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. “Today's outcome demonstrates our unwavering commitment to hold accountable those that perpetrate fraud against TRICARE and put its beneficiaries at risk.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Collins operated a TRICARE scheme that defrauded the American taxpayer of more than $65 million in healthcare resources that should have been directed to service members, retirees, and their dependents,” said Special Agent in Charge Greg Gross of the NCIS Economic Crimes Field Office. “This guilty plea should serve as a warning that NCIS and our partners are dedicated to rooting out fraud that harms the military community.”
Jimmy and Ashley Collins are scheduled to be sentenced on October 27 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino.
DEFENDANTS Case Numbers: 18-CR-1850-JLS, 18-CR-1855-JLS
Jimmy Collins Age: 59 Birchwood, TN
Ashley Collins Age: 37 Birchwood, TN
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Jimmy Collins:
Receipt of Illegal Remuneration, in violation of 42 U.S.C. §1320(a)-7b(b)(1)(A)
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $100,000 fine or double loss amount, whichever is greater
An order of restitution requiring defendant to repay at least $65,679,512.71 to DHA/TRICARE
Ashley Collins:
Conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine or double loss amount, whichever is greater
An order of restitution requiring defendant to repay at least $65,679,512.71 to DHA/TRICARE
AGENCY
Defense Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Gulfport, MS
Federal Bureau of Investigation - Jackson, MS Field Office
Guymon Woman Sentenced to Serve 15 Months in Federal Prison for Preparing False Tax ReturnsRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY - Today, LIZBETH SAENZ LONGORIA, 52, of Guymon, Oklahoma, was sentenced to serve 15 months in federal prison for aiding or assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On December 12, 2022, a criminal Information was filed charging Longoria with willfully aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false return. On January 25, 2023, Longoria pleaded guilty to the charge.
According to the Information, Longoria knowingly included approximately $13,299 worth of medical or dental expenses on a person’s 2017 Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, despite knowing the individual did not have medical or dental expenses near that amount for the year 2017.
At a sentencing hearing today, U.S. District Court Judge Scott L. Palk sentenced Saenz to serve 15 months in federal prison. Judge Palk took into account relevant conduct by Longoria that included 116 additional false returns and ordered her to pay $291,520.00 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. In announcing the sentence, the court noted the seriousness of the offense and the need for general deterrence.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Will Farrior.
Reference is made to public filings for more information.
Félix Verdejo-Sánchez Found Guilty of Kidnapping Resulting in Death, and Intentionally Killing an Unborn ChildRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal jury convicted Félix Verdejo-Sánchez today for federal crimes that arise from the murder of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz on April 29, 2021.
The jury determined, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Félix Verdejo-Sánchez, along with his co-defendant Luis Antonio Cádiz-Martínez, aiding and abetting each other, committed a kidnapping that resulted in the death of Keishla M. Rodríguez Ortiz and her unborn child.
On the morning of April 29, 2021, Félix Verdejo-Sánchez executed a premeditated plan to murder Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz and her unborn child by luring Ms. Rodríguez Ortiz into his Dodge Durango where, with the assistance of Luis Cádiz Martínez, Verdejo punched Ms. Rodríguez Ortiz, injected her with drugs and then tied her with metal wire to a cement block. Mr. Verdejo Sánchez then drove the victim to the Teodoro Moscoso bridge, and, with Cadiz’s assistance, threw Ms. Rodríguez Ortiz into the San José Lagoon. He later jumped into the lagoon in order to finish murdering both victims.
“We stand firmly with the family of Keishla Rodríguez Ortiz and all those in the community who sought justice for this senseless, cruel, and heinous act of premeditated and cold-blooded violence against Keishla and her unborn child,” said United States Attorney Muldrow. “I also commend the hard work, dedication, and relentless pursuit of justice by federal and local law enforcement, including the FBI, the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety, the Puerto Rico Forensic Science Institute, and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, as well as the prosecutors and professional staff in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“There are damages which cannot ever be repaired, not even by a just verdict,” said FBI San Juan Special Agent in Charge, Joseph González. “In cases such as these, all we can do is give our all in the pursuit of justice. Today, I can say that my team did exactly that, and I am proud of their dedication. I would like to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the amazing work and the jury for their service. We did what we do and justice was served.”
Defendant Verdejo-Sánchez faces a mandatory life sentence for each conviction under 18 USC Sections 1201(a)(1) and 1841, respectively. The sentencing was scheduled for November 3, 2023 at 2:00 pm.
The FBI was in charge of the investigation with the close collaboration and support of the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety, the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, and the Puerto Rico Department of Justice.
Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan Gottfried, Chief of the Violent Crimes and National Security Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeanette Collazo prosecuted the case.
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Fourteen Time Convicted Felon Sentenced to More than 11 Years for Gun and Narcotics OffensesRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – A Wilmington man was sentenced today to 138 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of fentanyl and heroin, possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On April 26, 2023, Jarrod Eugene Davis, age 42, pled guilty to the charges.
According to court documents and other information presented in court, Wilmington Police Department officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation on April 13, 2022, where they located the defendant and attempted to speak to him. The defendant initially fled on foot from law enforcement, but he was quickly apprehended by officers. A search of the defendant revealed $982 in United States Currency. Officers backtracked the defendant’s path of flight and found a “fanny pack” containing 321 bags of a mixture of fentanyl and heroin and a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun underneath the “fanny pack.” Additionally, officers located a spent 9mm shell casing in the area where the initial contact was made with the defendant. Forensic testing revealed the defendant’s fingerprint on the magazine of the handgun and determined the spent shell casing found on the scene was fired from the 9mm Taurus handgun. At the time of this offense, the defendant was on post release supervision after being released from prison on December 4, 2021, after serving a 76 to 104 month prison sentence for possessing a firearm by a convicted felon and being a habitual felon.
The defendant has over thirty criminal convictions, fourteen of which are for felony offenses. In November of 2003, the defendant was sentenced to 94 to 122 months in prison after he pled guilty to numerous felony offenses in New Hanover County Superior Court relating to an incident where he shot at two Wilmington Police Department Officers on February 22, 2003, and for an armed robbery that he committed five months prior.
“We are prioritizing the prosecution of shooters and violent repeat offenders like this defendant, who sow fear and push deadly narcotics into our communities. I am grateful to local law enforcement and district attorneys for prioritizing these cases through our Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP),” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.
“Repeat offenders are a burden to our law enforcement agencies and a danger to our communities,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims. “ATF and our law enforcement partners will continue to identify and apprehend those individuals who blatantly ignore the laws in place to keep neighborhoods safe.”
“Our priority remains going after armed repeat offenders and putting them in prison for years. This result would not be possible without the partnership between state and federal authorities made possible through New Hanover County” said District Attorney Ben David.
“Felons who possess firearms and traffic in illegal substances have no place in our community and we will continue to pursue them. Once again, our women and men have stepped up to the plate to get another violent offender off the streets. I am grateful for our continued partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies as well. Anyone who brings heroin, fentanyl, or any other illegal substance into our city will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law” said Wilmington Police Department Chief Donny Williams.
Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Wilmington Police Department, the Wilmington Police Department Gun Crimes Task Force, and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Special Assistant United States Attorney William Van Trigt prosecuted the case. Van Trigt is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal violent crimes and other criminal matters. This has been made possible by a grant funded by New Hanover County.
The conviction is a result of the ongoing Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) initiative which is a collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, and interagency coordination and intelligence-led policing.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:23-cr-00005D-001.
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Four indicted for money laundering in prolific human smuggling network takedownRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas - A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging four defendants with conspiracy to launder money.
The new charges were filed against Erminia Serrano Piedra aka Irma or Boss Lady, 32, Elgin and Oscar Angel Monroy Alcibar aka Pelon, 40, both of Elgin; Pedro Hairo Abrigo, 34, Killeen; and Juan Diego Martinez-Rodriguez aka Gavilan, 38, Dale.
As alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendants conspired to engage in financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership and control of ill-gotten proceeds of illicit human smuggling and the unlawful harboring and transportation of undocumented aliens. The leaders of the organization allegedly recruited and used straw persons to accept human smuggling proceeds in their bank accounts and then transferred these proceeds to the leaders under the pretense of “work” payments for construction. The defendants also allegedly used businesses and business accounts to transfer the human smuggling proceeds. In addition, the defendants recruited individuals to accept human smuggling proceeds in the form of cash in exchange for checks from the recruited individuals’ business bank accounts, according to the charges.
The superseding indictment also notices the criminal forfeiture of three properties with values currently estimated at approximately $2.275 million, $515,000 and $344,000 as well as money judgments amounting to at least $2,945,027.
Three of the four defendants were previously charged with human smuggling in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas (SDTX) and unsealed on or about Sept. 13, 2022. That indictment was the culmination of a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle an alleged prolific human smuggling organization operating in Texas and elsewhere. That operation resulted in the arrests of 14 alleged members of a human smuggling organization Piedra led that facilitated the unlawful transportation and movement of hundreds of migrants within the United States and harbored and concealed those migrants from law enforcement detection. The migrants were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia, and they or their families allegedly paid members of the human smuggling organization to help them travel unlawfully to and within the United States. According to the indictment, the human smuggling organization used drivers to pick up migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border and transport them into the interior of the United States, often harboring them at “stash houses” along the way in locations such as Laredo and Austin. Drivers for the human smuggling organization allegedly hid migrants in suitcases placed in pickup trucks and crammed migrants in the back of tractor-trailers, covered beds of pickup trucks, repurposed water tankers and wooden crates strapped to flatbed trailers. These methods allegedly placed the migrants’ lives in danger, because they were frequently held in contained spaces with little ventilation, which became overheated, and they were driven at high speeds with no vehicle safety devices.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the SDTX and Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
HSI Laredo, along with Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Border Patrol Laredo Sector and Department of Homeland Security - Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG), led the investigation and received substantial assistance from HSI offices in Austin, San Antonio, Waco and Corpus Christi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; West Palm Beach, Florida; Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C.; as well as CBP’s National Targeting Center; U.S. Marshals Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations – Austin; and the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture. Police departments in Laredo, Killeen, Elgin and Round Rock as well as Wiggins, Mississippi and Bogalusa, Louisiana; Webb County Constable’s Office; Webb County District Attorney’s Office; sheriffs’ offices in Webb, Bastrop and Caldwell Counties in Texas, Harrison, George and Stone Counties in Mississippi, Mobile County, Alabama, and Jefferson and Washington Parishes in Louisiana; Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; and the Louisiana State Police also provided substantial assistance.
Trial Attorneys Christian Levesque and Angela Buckner of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Trial Attorney Daria Andryushchenko of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and SDTX Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Day are prosecuting the case with substantial assistance from MLARS Financial Investigator Kelly O’Mara, Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations’ (OEO) Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU) and ESU Acting Deputy Chief Jessica Reid.
The indictments against these defendants were brought under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland created JFTA in June 2021 in partnership with DHS to strengthen the department’s overall efforts to combat these crimes based on the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America and impacting our border communities. JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle those human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks or engage in other types of transnational organized crime.
Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico; targeted those organizations who most significantly impact the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 100 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; several dozen convictions; significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial asset forfeiture. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including SDTX, Western District of Texas, Districts of New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California. Numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are part of JTFA, led by HRSP, and including the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, MLARS, OEO, the Office of International Affairs and the Organized Crime and Gang Section. JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and other partners.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Four Men Federally Indicted for Hobbs Act Conspiracy, Firearms Charges, and a KidnappingRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today the unsealing of a July 13, 2023, Indictment returned by a federal grand jury charging four Delaware men with a crime spree that culminated in the kidnapping and rape of an individual identified in the Indictment as “Victim-1.”
According to the Indictment, on April 14, 2023, Tonnaire McNair-Matthews, 24, David Hinson, 23, Michael Caldwell, 21, and Mahkiya Powell, 20, conspired to rob unsuspecting drivers by rear-ending them in a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee (“the Jeep”) with the intent to rob the drivers when they exited their vehicles. After multiple attempted robberies, McNair-Matthews, the driver of the Jeep, rear-ended Victim-1, who was on her way to work, in Pennsylvania, causing Victim-1 to pull over after crossing into Delaware. McNair-Matthews then approached Victim-1’s vehicle, brandished and pointed a privately made firearm, commonly referred to as a ghost gun, at Victim-1, and then forced Victim-1 back inside Victim-1’s car at gunpoint. McNair-Matthews then drove Victim-1, against her will, in Victim-1’s vehicle from Delaware into Pennsylvania. During the ride, McNair-Matthews forced Victim-1 to disrobe, demanded Victim-1’s PIN code, and digitally penetrated her against her will. After arriving in Pennsylvania, McNair-Matthews then forcibly raped and robbed Victim-1 of personal property at gunpoint. After raping and robbing Victim-1, McNair-Matthews abandoned Victim-1, took Victim-1’s car, and fled. McNair-Matthews then drove Victim-1’s car to Delaware convenience stores and withdrew money from Victim-1’s bank accounts via ATM transactions.
McNair-Matthews then reunited with Hinson, Powell, and Caldwell in Wilmington, Delaware and delivered them Victim-1’s bank cards, Victim-1’s PIN, and the ghost gun. At McNair-Matthews’ direction, Hinson, Powell, and Caldwell then cleaned Victim-1’s car and removed personal property, including a designer purse, from Victim-1’s vehicle. Hinson and Caldwell then travelled in a stolen Nissan Pathfinder to local gas stations to withdraw money from ATMs. McNair-Matthews, who attempted to evade detection by switching clothes, and Powell drove the stolen Jeep to a Wilmington, Delaware gas station to meet Hinson and Caldwell.
Law enforcement tracked the Defendants to that Wilmington gas station. On sight, McNair-Matthews and Powell led law enforcement on a high-speed chase in the Jeep and evaded capture. Shortly thereafter, Hinson and Caldwell attempted to rendezvous with McNair-Matthews and Powell in Pennsylvania. While on I-95 North, Hinson and Caldwell, in the stolen Nissan Pathfinder, collided with another vehicle. After the collision, Caldwell brandished and pointed the ghost gun given to him by McNair-Matthews at the driver of the other car. Later, while travelling back to Delaware from Pennsylvania on I-95 South, Hinson and Caldwell led law enforcement on a miles-long high-speed chase before colliding with another vehicle and crashing into an exit ramp sign. Hinson and Caldwell fled on foot, tossed the ghost gun, but were quickly apprehended. Powell was arrested on April 17, 2023. Defendant McNair was arrested that same day in Maryland, after fleeing from law enforcement.
All defendants are charged with Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery, Carjacking, Hobbs Act Robbery, and Brandishing and Use of a Firearm in Relation to a Hobbs Act Robbery charge. McNair-Matthews is also charged with Kidnapping causing serious bodily injury and brandishing and use of a firearm during his rape and robbery of Victim-1. Hinson, Caldwell, and Powell are charged with Accessory After the Fact for their role in Victim-1’s kidnapping. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
In announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Weiss, Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, and Delaware State Police Troop 2 Commander Capt. John Laird, Jr. commended the work of those who investigated the case, including the Delaware State Police Criminal Investigations Unit, FBI's Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Taskforce, Pennsylvania State Police, Wilmington Police Department, Maryland State Police, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Delaware Department of Justice. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin P. Pierce and Samuel S. Frey and Special Assistant United States Attorney Diana Dunn are assigned to prosecute the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 23-68.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Four Indicted for Money Laundering in Prolific Human Smuggling Network TakedownRead the Press Release
Note: This release has been updated to reflect the latest arrest statistics for Joint Task Force Alpha.
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas has returned a superseding indictment charging four defendants with conspiracy to launder money.
The new charges were filed against Erminia Serrano Piedra, aka Irma, aka Boss Lady, 32, of Elgin, Texas; Oscar Angel Monroy Alcibar, aka Pelon, 40, also of Elgin; Pedro Hairo Abrigo, 34, of Killeen, Texas; and Juan Diego Martinez-Rodriguez, aka Gavilan, 38, of Dale, Texas.
As alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendants conspired to engage in financial transactions designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of ill-gotten proceeds of illicit human smuggling and the unlawful harboring and transportation of undocumented aliens. The leaders of the organization allegedly recruited and used straw persons to accept human smuggling proceeds in their bank accounts and then transferred these proceeds to the leaders under the pretense of “work” payments for construction. The defendants also allegedly used businesses and business accounts to transfer the human smuggling proceeds. In addition, the defendants allegedly recruited individuals to accept human smuggling proceeds in the form of cash in exchange for checks from the recruited individuals’ business bank accounts.
The superseding indictment also notices the criminal forfeiture of three properties with values currently estimated at approximately $2.275 million, $515,000, and $344,000, as well as money judgments amounting to at least $2,945,027.
Three of the four defendants previously were charged with human smuggling in an indictment filed in the Southern District of Texas and unsealed on Sept. 13, 2022. That indictment was the culmination of a significant enforcement operation to disrupt and dismantle an alleged prolific human smuggling organization operating in Texas and elsewhere. That operation resulted in the arrests of 14 alleged human smugglers alleged to be members of a human smuggling organization led by Piedra that facilitated the unlawful transportation and movement of hundreds of migrants within the United States and harbored and concealed those migrants from law enforcement detection. The migrants were citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia, and they or their families allegedly paid members of the human smuggling organization to help them travel unlawfully to and within the United States. According to the indictment, the human smuggling organization used drivers to pick up migrants near the U.S.-Mexico border and transport them into the interior of the United States, often harboring them at “stash houses” along the way in locations such as Laredo and Austin, Texas. Drivers for the human smuggling organization allegedly hid migrants in suitcases placed in pickup trucks and crammed migrants in the back of tractor-trailers, covered beds of pickup trucks, repurposed water tankers, and wooden crates strapped to flatbed trailers. These methods allegedly placed the migrants’ lives in danger, because they were frequently held in confined spaces with little ventilation, which became overheated, and they were driven at high speeds with no vehicle safety devices.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas, and Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
HSI Laredo, along with Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector and Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS-OIG), led the investigation and received substantial assistance from HSI offices in Austin, San Antonio, Waco, and Corpus Christi, Texas; HSI New Orleans; HSI Gulfport, Mississippi; HSI Mobile, Alabama; HSI West Palm Beach, Florida; HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C.; CBP’s National Targeting Center; the U.S. Marshals Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations – Austin; and the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture. Police departments in Laredo, Killeen, Elgin, and Round Rock, Texas; the Wiggins, Mississippi Police Department; the Bogalusa, Louisiana Police Department; the Webb County Constable’s Office; the Webb County District Attorney’s Office; sheriffs’ offices in Webb, Bastrop, and Caldwell Counties in Texas; sheriffs’ offices in Harrison, George, and Stone Counties in Mississippi; the Mobile County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office; sheriffs’ offices in Jefferson and Washington Parishes in Louisiana; the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics; and the Louisiana State Police also provided substantial assistance.
Trial Attorneys Christian Levesque and Angela Buckner of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Trial Attorney Daria Andryushchenko of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Day for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from MLARS Financial Investigator Kelly O’Mara, the Criminal Division’s Office of Enforcement Operations’ (OEO) Electronic Surveillance Unit (ESU), and ESU Acting Deputy Chief Jessica Reid.
The indictments against these defendants were brought under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland created JFTA in June 2021 in partnership with DHS to strengthen the department’s overall efforts to combat these crimes based on the rise in prolific and dangerous smuggling emanating from Central America and impacting our border communities. JTFA’s goal is to disrupt and dismantle those human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, with a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, present national security risks, or engage in other types of transnational organized crime.
Since its creation, JTFA has successfully increased coordination and collaboration between the Justice Department, DHS, and other interagency law enforcement participants, and with foreign law enforcement partners, including in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; targeted those organizations who most significantly impact the United States; and coordinated significant smuggling indictments and extradition efforts in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in over 200 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; several dozen convictions; significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial asset forfeiture. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, including the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of New Mexico, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California. Numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are part of JTFA, led by HRSP, and including the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, MLARS, OEO, the Office of International Affairs, and the Organized Crime and Gang Section. JTFA is made possible by substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Federal Inmate Sentenced for Involuntary ManslaughterRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – A Jamaican national was sentenced to 15 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Michael Phillips, 47, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Jackson
According to court documents, on or about July 2, 2017, during an altercation with another inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi, Phillips punched the other inmate causing him to fall backwards into a metal locker. The other inmate hit the back of his head on the locker, and he died as a result of his injuries.
Phillips pled guilty on April 4, 2023, to involuntary manslaughter.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Robles and Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Purdie prosecuted the case.
Former Erie Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Malicious Destruction of Property by FireRead the Press Release
ERIE, Pa. - A former resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to five years in jail and ordered to pay $3,295 in restitution on his conviction of malicious destruction of property by fire, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter imposed the sentence on Melquan Barnett, 31.
According to information presented to the court, Barnett set fire to the Ember + Forge building located at 401 State Street in Erie on May 30, 2020.
Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Erie Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Barnett.
Former Coach from Pecos Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sextortion SchemeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Joshua Rico was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Rico, 27, of Pecos, New Mexico, pleaded guilty on Dec. 22, 2022, to five counts of coercion and enticement of minors.
A federal grand jury indicted Rico on May 12, 2021. According to court documents, beginning as early as January 2018, Rico used multiple profiles on the social media platform Snapchat to coerce female high school students, some of which he was familiar with from his job as the assistant basketball coach at a local high school, into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos and engage in sexual acts. Rico used fictitious profiles under the names “Chris Lujan” and “Erik Romero” as well as a profile in his own name to threaten, coerce and manipulate at least four victims who were between 14 and 16 years old.
In each case, Rico used one or both of his fake profiles to persuade the victims into sending compromising photos, then used the threat of exposing the photos to coerce the victims into engaging in sexual acts and sending him videos of the acts. In two instances, after using a fake profile to demand that the victims engage in sexual acts and provide videos, he offered to “help” the victims by allowing them to perform the sexual act with him. Rico coerced at least one of the victims into engaging in sexual acts with him.
Rico’s scheme continued unchecked for nearly three years until one of the victims pieced together that Rico and “Erik” were the same person and reported the conduct to her school and the New Mexico State Police. Through diligent investigation, law enforcement was able to confirm that Rico was also “Chris Lujan” and “Erik Romero.”
“This case highlights the importance and benefit of law enforcement partnerships and task forces. Each agency played a vital role in developing a comprehensive case for prosecutors,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda. “The successful multi-agency investigation and prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office will keep a dangerous predator out of the school system and will prevent him from targeting additional minors.”
“Our mission is clear: to protect the innocent, to uphold the rule of law, and to ensure that those who engage in such malicious activities face the consequences of their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to safeguard our children, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. We call upon everyone to be vigilant regarding the online activity of our children and report any suspicious or concerning conduct. The safety of our children is a shared responsibility, and we must work hand-in-hand to maintain their wellbeing – whether at school, in the community, or on the internet. This sentence should send a message to would-be predators, especially those who work in positions of trust with children, that sextortion is a heinous crime that will be punished with decades in prison.”
Upon his release from prison, Rico will be required to register as a sex offender and serve a 20-year term of supervised release.
The New Mexico State Police, the FBI, and the Regional Computer Forensic Laboratory investigated this case as part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The ICAC Task Force Program is a nation-wide network of task forces including over 90 federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in New Mexico dedicated to investigating, prosecuting and developing effective responses to Internet crimes against children.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Mease and Jaymie L. Roybal are prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
For more information on sextortion and how to get help, visit the FBI website.
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Firearms Smuggler Sentenced for Conspiracy to Smuggle Goods from the United StatesRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Jorge Alexis Hernandez-Martinez, 25, of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on July 14, 2023, by United States District Judge Scott H. Rash to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Hernandez-Martinez pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Smuggle Goods from the United States.
Hernandez-Martinez and his co-conspirators obtained firearms and ammunition from licensed firearms dealers within Arizona with the intent to smuggle them into Mexico. In January 2020, Hernandez-Martinez and his co-conspirators obtained 6,800 rounds of 9mm ammunition, which are designated on the United States Commerce Control List as prohibited by law for export from the United States into Mexico without a valid license. Neither Hernandez-Martinez nor any other individual involved in the conspiracy to export firearms and ammunition had a license or any other lawful authority to export them from the United States into Mexico.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Bolling and Sandra M. Hansen, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-21-01250-SHR-EJM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-115_Hernandez-Martinez# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Final Defendant in Duluth Area Methamphetamine Distribution Ring Sentenced to PrisonRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A Duluth man was sentenced to 170 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, Evan Andrew Lautigar, 33, and his co-conspirators Matthew James Cuypers, 41, John Arvid Sundquist, 34, and Jacob Lee Kivela-Sandnas, 34, arranged to drive to California to buy methamphetamine from a supplier and transport it back to Minnesota for distribution in and around the Duluth area.
According to court documents, in early 2022, the DEA began investigating a drug trafficking organization operating in the Duluth area. The investigation revealed that in February 2022, Cuypers was en route from California to Minnesota after picking up a load of methamphetamine. A South Dakota Highway Patrol officer conducted a traffic stop of a 2011 Kia Sorrento for a speeding violation. Cuypers was the driver and Sundquist was the passenger. A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 27 pounds of methamphetamine.
On April 7, 2022, deputies with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop of a 2009 Mercedes Benz driven by Lautigar. Officers executed a previously obtained search warrant on the vehicle and recovered approximately 15 pounds of methamphetamine.
All four defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and were sentenced by Judge Joan N. Ericksen. Lautigar was sentenced on July 25, 2023, to 170 months in prison; Cuypers was sentenced on June 13, 2023, to 150 months in prison; Sundquist was sentenced on January 11, 2023, to 60 months in prison; and Kivela-Sandnas was sentenced on May 11, 2023, to 155 months in prison.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Duluth Police Department, and the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew S. Dunne and David P. Steinkamp.
Fifteen Arrested in FBI Gun, Drug Bust Involving 200+ AgentRead the Press Release
Fifteen people were arrested in a large-scale gun and drug bust Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced today.
During the operation – which involved more than 200 officers and agents from FBI Dallas, the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas Sheriff’s Office, and other local agencies – law enforcement seized more than 540 grams of cocaine, more than 1,100 grams of methamphetamine, more than 150 grams of alprazolam, and more than 7 grams of fentanyl, along with nine firearms and over $10,000 in cash.
The defendants were charged in a 16-count indictment with a variety of gun and drug crimes, including possession with intent to distribute cocaine and felon in possession of firearms. They began making their initial appearances in federal court Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez.
“Prosecuting these worst-of-the-worst offenders not only holds them accountable for past wrongs, but it also prevents them from committing future crimes. It makes our streets safer, and our communities sleep more soundly at night,” U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton said at an FBI press conference Friday morning. “An operation like this takes commitment – commitment of time, commitment of resources, and above all, psychological commitment – knowingly risking one’s own personal safety to ensure the security of the community… This case was almost exactly two years in the making. After yesterday, we’re confident it was worth the effort.”
"It's not our goal to just put individuals in jail for a few days, but to build cases that cut into the capabilities of these gangs and criminal enterprises, putting the most violent offenders and facilitators behind bars for as long as we possibly can," said FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office Chad Yarbrough said at the press conference.”
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said, “I want to thank the FBI Dallas Field Office, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, and the other state and local agencies for their partnerships in this two year-long investigation. It takes all of us to fight and prevent crime and criminal activity. Violent crime continues to trend downward in the city of Dallas and not by accident. It is because of the hard work of the men and women of our agencies, along with our community and city leaders that we see the needle trending down. We are committed to making our neighborhoods safer.”
Those charged include:
- Alicia Slaughter: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Courtney Smith: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Edward Williams, aka “Lil ‘E:” conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, convicted felon in possession of a firearm
- Xavier Barnes: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Jordan Davis: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Ladarius Holly: convicted felon in possession of a firearm
- Quentavis Zikeiy Hawkins, aka “Luddy:” conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Lucis Lugo: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Sebastian Medlock, aka “Blue:” convicted felon in possession of a firearm
- Dmarcus Quartez Roderick Moton, aka “Little Cheese:” conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of an unregistered firearm (Glock switch)
- Christopher Samuel: convicted felon in possession of a firearm
- Perry Taylor: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute cocaine
- Anthony Joe Womack: convicted felon in possession of a firearm
- Davonia Hart: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance
- Brandon Bedford: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, convicted felon in possession of a firearm
Many of the defendants arrested Friday had extensive criminal histories, including assault, aggravated robbery, arson, deadly conduct with a firearm, and manufacture and delivery of controlled substances. Many were allegedly armed, including one who allegedly carried a Glock switch, a dangerous device that converts a regular semi-automatic weapon into a machinegun capable of continuous fire with a single depression of the trigger.
An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If convicted, some face as many as 40 years in federal prison.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Dallas Police Department, and the Dallas Sheriff’s Office conducted the operation with the assistance of the Irving Police Department, the Carrollton Police Department, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Office of Inspector General, which contributed officers to the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kull is prosecuting the case.
Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Firearms Violations and Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 144 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for fentanyl trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in 2021 and 2022, Keonee Nasier Shaffer-Frazier, 23, and his co-conspirators were part of a drug trafficking ring that obtained “M30” or “MBox” fentanyl pills from a source of supply outside of Minnesota and transported and distributed the pills across the Twin Cities region. Shaffer-Frazier regularly distributed the fentanyl pills in quantities ranging from 100 to 1,000 or more at a time.
According to court documents, during the course of the investigation, law enforcement conducted seizure operations in March 2022 and obtained approximately 57,000 M30 fentanyl pills, more than $83,000 in U.S. currency, body armor, and firearms from Shaffer-Frazier and his conspirators. Law enforcement also recovered two loaded semi-automatic pistols from Shaffer-Frazier’s white Audi. He was arrested in March 2022, charged in Hennepin County, and obtained release on bail.
Afterward, in September 2022, law enforcement arrested Shaffer-Frazier after a short foot chase and recovered approximately $7,050 in U.S. currency from his person. Law enforcement searched Shaffer-Frazier’s new vehicle, a black Audi Q7, and recovered a Glock model 22 .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol from the driver’s side door pocket. The weapon was loaded with an extended magazine.
Because Shaffer-Frazier has a prior felony conviction, he was prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.
On February 1, 2023, Shaffer-Frazier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and a separate count of possession of a firearm as a felon. He was sentenced yesterday before Senior Judge Michael J. Davis.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Southwest Hennepin Drug Task Force, the Dakota County Drug Task Force, the Fridley Police Department, and the St. Paul Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter Jr. prosecuted the case.
Federal Grand Jury B Indictments Announced- July 2023Read the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – United States Attorney Clint Johnson today announced the results of the July 2023 Federal Grand Jury B.
The following individuals have been charged with violations of United States law in indictments returned by the Grand Jury. The return of an indictment is a method of informing a defendant of alleged violations of federal law, which must be proven in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt to overcome a defendant’s presumption of innocence.
Kelsey Dawn Lipp. First Degree Murder in Indian Country; Robbery in Indian Country; and Kidnapping in Indian Country. Kelsey Dawn Lipp, 28, is a Cherokee citizen, and is charged for allegedly arranging a robbery and kidnapping that resulted in the victim’s death. Tulsa Police Department and the FBI are the investigating agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Nasar and Niko Boulieris are prosecuting the case. 23-CR-243
Jared Kyle Childers. Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to do Bodily Harm in Indian Country; Kidnapping in Indian Country; and Carrying, Using, Brandishing, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence. Jared Kyle Childers, 20, a Cherokee citizen of Salina, is charged after allegedly brandishing a weapon while assaulting and kidnapping the victim with intent to do bodily harm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is the investigating agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shakema Onias is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-245
Leo Steban Chumwalooky. Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country; and Incest in Indian Country. Leo Steban Chumwalooky, 20, and a Cherokee citizen is charged after he allegedly engaged in and attempted to engage in sexual acts with a child between 12 and 16 years of age. Cherokee Nation Marshal Service and the FBI are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Dunn is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-246
Lee Finch Jr. Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct. Lee Finch Jr. is charged with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct in a superseding indictment. A previous indictment on April 18, charged Finch with coercion and enticement of a minor. The Tulsa Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations are the investigating agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Dunn is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-148
Hayden Barclay Greene. Assault of an Intimate/Dating Partner by Strangling and Attempting to Strangle in Indian Country; Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Indian Country; and Child Neglect in Indian Country. Hayden Barclay Greene, 45, is a member of the Choctaw Nation. Greene allegedly assaulted and strangled his intimate partner resulting in serious bodily harm in the presence of a minor. The Creek County Sheriff’s Office, Muscogee Creek Nation Lighthorse Police, and the FBI are the investigating agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Todd is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-247
Zulma Martinez. Possession of Methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Zulma Martinez, 46, a Mexican national is charged for allegedly possessing meth with the intent to distribute. The Tulsa Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are the investigating agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bailey is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-248
Rolland James Miles. Carjacking. Rolland James Miles, 20, a Muscogee Creek Nation citizen is charged with carjacking after allegedly attempting to take a motor vehicle by force, violence, intimidation, and with intent to cause death and serious bodily harm. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is the investigating agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matt Cyran and Dennis Fries are prosecuting the case. 23-CR-249
Jose Becerra-Ruiz. Distribution of Meth. Jose Becerra-Ruiz, 30, of Claremore, is charged for allegedly distributing meth. The Drug Enforcement Administration is the investigating agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Bailey is prosecuting the case. 23-CR-244
EDVA to Participate in Community Events During National Night OutRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va.— The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) will join community organizers, neighbors, and law enforcement partners to participate in National Night Out events on August 1, 2023. During this year’s National Night Out, U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber and members of the office will attend community events in Fairfax County, Alexandria City, Hampton Roads, and the greater Richmond area. One EDVA employee has even planned a NNO event for her neighborhood.
“National Night Out is a fantastic and fun opportunity both for citizens and law enforcement to meet, interact and build relationships.” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber. “EDVA cares deeply about helping to restore trust between communities and law enforcement, including the Department of Justice. These connections are critical for public safety, as well as the rule of law.”
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes partnerships and camaraderie between law enforcement and the communities they serve to make our neighborhoods safer places to live. Millions take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities throughout the country on the first Tuesday of August in most areas of the country.
National Night Out was established in 1984 with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice. The program is administered by the National Association of Town Watch, a nationwide non-profit organization.
Coordinated by local law enforcement and trained volunteers, National Night Out provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. Neighborhoods host block parties, cookouts, festivals, parades, safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, and more. National Night Out sends a message that neighbors are united and working together to keep their communities and each other safe.
To find a National Night Out event near you, contact your local police department. For more information on National Night Out, visit https://natw.org/.
Dual citizen gets max for laundering romance scam proceedsRead the Press Release
HOUSTON – A 39-year-old man who holds citizenship in the United States and Ghana has been sent to prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Kenneth Anim, who had resided in the Houston and Richmond areas, pleaded guilty April 27.
U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein has now ordered Anim to serve 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution. In handing down the sentence, the court noted the length of the scheme and that while Anim may not have known who the victims were specifically, they were in fact vulnerable members of society.
“Anim profited off the elderly and vulnerable. He knew victims were being defrauded but helped launder the money anyway by operating as an illegal money transmitter,” said Hamdani. “The sentence shows that we will not let money launderers for romance scammers try to hide behind the excuse that they didn’t know details about where the money was coming from.”
“Kenneth Anim was a mule who, for years, knew that the millions of dollars he was depositing in numerous banks were stolen from victims through false promises,” said Special Agent in Charge James Smith of the FBI Houston field office. “Yet his greed was stronger than his principles, and he chose to continue to receive money from romance scam victims, most of them senior citizens. As long as con artists like Anim exist and victims continue to fall for their lies, the FBI will continue to call attention to these scams and go after the people behind them.”
Anim admitted that from 2014 to 2019, he operated an unlicensed money transmitting business to launder funds from wire fraud schemes including internet fraud and romance scams. Anim ran the unlicensed money transmitting business by using shell companies that existed only on paper.
As part of the plea, he acknowledged opening and maintaining bank accounts to collect proceeds from internet and romance fraud schemes to send the money to himself, co-conspirators and overseas.
A romance scam occurs when criminals adopt fake online identities to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then uses the illusion of a close relationship to induce the victim, under false pretenses, to send money to the scammer.
Amin has been and will remain in custody pending U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Belinda Beek and Grace Murphy are prosecuting the case.
Detroit Man Sentenced to Prison for Fentanyl CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Kristopher D. Thomas, also known as “Rio,” 22, of Detroit Michigan, was sentenced today to one year and five months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for distribution of fentanyl.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on Oct. 14, 2021, Thomas sold a quantity of fentanyl to a confidential informant at an Amigo residence where Thomas was staying in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Thomas admitted to that transaction and further admitted to selling fentanyl to a confidential informant in Daniels, Raleigh County, on April 12 and April 22, 2021. The West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory confirmed the controlled substances from all three transactions contained fentanyl.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit. The Beckley/Raleigh County Drug and Violent Crime Unit consists of officers from the West Virginia State Police, the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, and the Beckley Police Department.
United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Isabell prosecuted the case.
The case is a result of “Operation Wolverine Carousel,” a months-long investigation into the widespread distribution of heroin and fentanyl in Raleigh and Fayette counties.
The investigation was part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). The program was established in 1982 to conduct comprehensive, multilevel attacks on major drug trafficking and money laundering organizations and is the keystone of the Department of Justice’s drug reduction strategy. OCDETF combines the resources and expertise of its member federal agencies in cooperation with state and local law enforcement. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking organizations, transnational criminal organizations and money laundering organizations that present a significant threat to the public safety, economic, or national security of the United States.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:22-cr-28.
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Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Joshua Pedersen, 46, from Moville, Iowa, was sentenced July 28, 2023, to 11 years in federal prison for Possession of Child Pornography.
Evidence in the case established that between November 2018, and December 2019, Pedersen used Internet-based, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks “Kik” and “Skout” to knowingly receive and distribute child pornography. Pedersen also admitted he distributed child pornography to a minor to persuade the minor to create and send him child pornography. Pedersen has a prior conviction for Dissemination and Exhibition of Obscene Materials to Minors, and multiple convictions for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender.
Pedersen was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 132 months’ imprisonment. He was also fined a total of $5,000. Pedersen must also serve a 5-year term of supervised released following the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
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.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 22-3017.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Colorado Hunter Sentenced for Lacey Act Violation Stemming from Nebraska HuntRead the Press Release
Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Michael T. Ban, 50, of Elbert, Colorado, was sentenced today in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska, for violations of the Lacey Act. Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Ban to 2 years’ probation for unlawful transportation of wildlife in interstate commerce. Ban was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $5,000 and pay restitution in the amount of $4,000. As part of his probation terms, Ban shall not hunt, fish, trap, provide guiding or outfitting services, or assist or be present with anyone engaged in those activities for one year.
A joint investigation conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Law Enforcement Division determined that in September of 2019, Ban traveled to Nebraska to conduct an archery mule deer hunt. During the hunt, Ban unlawfully shot a mule deer in Lincoln County, Nebraska, and subsequently transported a taxidermy shoulder mount including parts of the unlawfully taken trophy deer back to his Colorado residence.
As contained in the plea agreement accepted by the Court and admitted by Ban, the investigation determined that in the fall of 2019, Ban traveled to Noble Outdoors, a commercial big game guiding business located in North Platte, Nebraska, to hunt mule deer during the archery season. During the hunt, Ban unlawfully shot a mule deer buck with 5 X 5 antlers in velvet without a valid deer permit and during closed season hours at approximately 11:12 P.M. on September 6, 2019. After taking the deer while guided and accompanied by the Noble Outdoors owner, Ban purchased a Nebraska Non-resident Archery Deer Permit the following day in order to conceal the fact the deer was taken without a permit. Under Nebraska state law, hunters are required to possess a valid permit and habitat stamp prior to hunting or taking mule deer and are authorized to hunt only during the legal shooting hours from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
Today’s sentencing is part of the ongoing prosecution of numerous defendants related to violations committed by Noble Outdoors and its owner, associates, and clients between 2015 and 2021. In total, 17 defendants have been sentenced and ordered to pay a more than $65,000 in fines and restitution for state and federal violations related to the interstate transport of unlawfully taken wildlife, shooting deer from the road; taking deer and pronghorn without a valid permit, taking deer with a firearm during archery season, taking deer during night-time closed season hours; dumping carcasses in waters of the state; hunting without permission; and improperly checking or registering big game.
The operation was a joint investigation conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Law Enforcement Division.
Chittenden County Man Sentenced for Threatening State OfficialsRead the Press Release
Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that Josh Puma, 36, formerly of Chittenden County, was sentenced Wednesday, July 26 in the United States District Court in Rutland to 20 months of imprisonment. Chief United States District Judge Geoffrey Crawford also ordered that Puma serve three years of supervised release following his period of incarceration.
According to court documents, between July 2021 and January 2022, Puma called a Vermont Department of Corrections reporting line hundreds of times. Puma was charged by federal indictment for three of those calls in which he (1) threatened to kill a state court judge and a defense attorney, (2) threatened to kill a state court judge and sexually assault a state prosecutor, and (3) threatened to kill a state court judge. Puma pleaded guilty to all three charged threats transmitted in interstate commerce. Puma’s threats made over the reporting line were recorded, and in those recorded calls, which in total numbered close to 300, Puma specifically described his intention upon release from jail to kill and maim those state officials, in addition to harming and killing other members of the legal community.
As described in court documents, Puma has mental health issues and was previously ordered hospitalized by the state court. In imposing the 20-month sentence, Chief Judge Crawford varied downward from the otherwise applicable advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines in part to recognize Puma’s mental health issues.
This case was investigated by the Vermont State Police.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy L. Fuller represented the government. Assistant Federal Public Defender Sara Puls represented Puma.
Chicago Rapper "G Herbo" Pleads Guilty to Role in Nationwide Fraud Conspiracy and Making False StatementsRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chicago-area rap artist pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield, Mass. to his role in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that victimized businesses across the United States and then making a false statement to a federal agent to conceal his involvement.
Herbert Wright, 25, a/k/a “G Herbo,” pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to a federal official. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Nov. 7, 2023.
Wright was initially indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2020 along with five co-defendants, including rap promoter Antonio Strong, in connection with the alleged fraud conspiracy. Wright was subsequently charged with making false statements in May 2021.
“Mr. Wright used stolen account information as his very own unlimited funding source, using victims’ payment cards to finance an extravagant lifestyle and advance his career. Mr. Wright’s conduct affected countless businesses and individuals across the United States who had to foot his nearly $140,000 bill in unauthorized transactions. Mr. Wright flaunted his lavish spending on social media, in music videos and in industry news. This office and our law enforcement partners are committed to ensuring that individuals and businesses are protected against fraudsters. This case should serve as a reminder that if you break the law, you will be prosecuted and held accountable – regardless of who you are,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
“The willful and intentional use of false statements during a federal criminal investigation threatens not only the integrity of an individual case but also a foundational tenet of our democracy at large,” said Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office. “Today’s announcement represents our communal dedication to the truth and I am proud of the investigative team of special agents and federal partners at the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office for the essential work behind these charges.”
Beginning in at least March 2017 through November 2018, Wright and, allegedly, his co-defendants conspired to defraud numerous businesses and individuals throughout the United States by using unauthorized and stolen payment card account information of real individuals – including the actual cardholders’ names, addresses, security codes and account expiration dates. Generally, because the payment card information was authentic, the defrauded businesses and individuals successfully processed the fraudulent transactions and provided the goods and services to Wright and his alleged co-conspirators. The actual cardholders discovered these transactions on their accounts and disputed the charges with their card companies who then charged back the transactions to the businesses and individuals, which consequently suffered losses in the amounts of the unauthorized transactions.
According to court documents, Wright frequently asked Strong for a number of luxury goods or services, such as flights, vehicles (“whips”), or accommodation (“cribs”), which Strong allegedly often procured by fraud using the stolen payment card account information. This included: four private jet charters for a total cost of over $80,000; over $34,000 in exotic car rentals including a Mercedes Benz 5560 and a Cadillac Escalade; as well as an over $14,500 villa in Jamaica for which Wright also requested that Strong provide vehicles and an additional credit card account for his incidentals. During text message conversations, Wright acknowledged that it did not cost Strong anything to rent a vehicle for him, stating: “Extend that whip bro that b**** ain't for no month why you be lying […] You know it don't be costing you s*** to do that s*** dude!”
Wright also used the fraud proceeds to travel to various concert venues and to advance his career by posting photographs and/or videos of himself on the private jets, in the exotic cars and at the Jamaican villa on social media as well as in music videos. In addition, Wright allegedly helped Strong obtain two designer Yorkie puppies for over $10,000 from a business by falsely representing that Wright was the actual purchaser of the puppies and by concealing Strong’s actual identity from the business.
Additionally, according to court documents in November 2018, Wright falsely told a federal agent that he never worked with or was assisted by Strong; he never provided Strong any money; he never received anything of value from Strong; and he had no direct relationship with Strong. In fact, since at least 2016: (1) Strong worked with and assisted Wright; (2) Wright provided Strong money; (3) Wright received valuable goods from Strong, including private jet charters, luxury accommodations, and exotic car rentals; and (4) Wright had frequent direct contact with Strong, including phone conversations, text messages and Instagram messages.
Wright admitted, as part his guilty plea, that he was responsible for $139,878 in victim losses. Strong has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
The charge of wire fraud conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three 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.
Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and USSS SAC Murphy made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office and Trial Attorneys Andrew Tyler and Kyle Crawford of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Chelsea Man Arrested for Unlawful Trafficking of Machinegun Conversion DevicesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Chelsea man was arrested yesterday in connection with illegally selling machinegun conversion devices.
Michael Williams, 49, was charged with one count of transferring or possessing a machine gun. Williams will appear in federal court in Boston at 3 p.m. this afternoon.
According to the charging documents, in January 2023, Williams agreed to sell several machine gun conversion devices and other firearm accessories to an undercover federal agent. It is alleged that, following a series of communications, Williams met the undercover agent twice at a pre-arranged location. It is further alleged that on Jan. 12, 2023, Williams sold the first machinegun conversion device to the undercover agent and the following day, on Jan. 13, 2023, Williams sold two additional machine conversion devices to the undercover agent.
The charge of unlawful transferring or possession of a machinegun provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Christopher DiMenna, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Chelsea Police Chief Keith Houghton made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
California Man Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud for Orchestrating an Investment SchemeRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gustavo Guzman, 60, previously of Fullerton, Calif., pleaded guilty to securities fraud today for orchestrating a $2 million investment fraud scheme, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall join U.S. Attorney King in making the announcement.
According to admissions Guzman made in connection with his guilty plea and filed court documents, from April 2010 to August 2015, Guzman, through various entities he controlled, including G2 Asset Management and East Egg Private Equity, defrauded approximately 10 investors of at least $2 million, by falsely representing that he would use the investors’ money to trade in options and other similar investments. Instead of investing the funds as promised, Guzman stole a substantial portion of the investors’ money and used it to fund his personal lifestyle, including to make large credit card payments and cash withdrawals, and to pay for personal expenditures. Guzman suffered massive trading losses with the money that he did invest and used some of the victim’s money to make Ponzi-style payments to other investors. Guzman admitted that in order to conceal the trading losses and the fraudulent scheme, and to prevent his victims from redeeming their investments and complaining to authorities, he lied to his victims about the status of their investments, and provided them with fake documents, including sham IRS forms and fraudulent account statements.
Guzman has been in federal custody since he was extradited from Australia to the United States in November 2022. At sentencing, he faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. A sentencing date has not been set. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission conducted a parallel investigation that resulted in the entry of a default judgment against Guzman in Civil Action No. 3:17-cv-00276 (WDNC).
In making todays’ announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended the FBI in Charlotte and the Securities Division of the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State for their investigation of the case. U.S. Attorney King also thanked the U.S. Marshals Service and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for their significant support with the defendant’s extradition and with obtaining evidence from Australian authorities.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.
Business Owner Pleads Guilty in Massive International Scheme to Sell Pirated Business Telephone System Software LicensesRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today in the Western District of Oklahoma to participating in a massive international scheme to make millions of dollars by selling pirated business telephone system software licenses. The entire scheme allegedly resulted in the sale of software licenses with a retail value of over $88 million.
According to court documents, Jason M. Hines, aka Joe Brown, aka Chad Johnson, aka Justin Albaum, 43, of Caldwell, conspired with co-defendants Brad Pearce and Dusti Pearce – who jointly used the identity “Terri Jenkins” – to commit wire fraud. The scheme involved generating and then selling unauthorized Avaya Direct International (ADI) software licenses, which were used to unlock features of a popular telephone system used by thousands of companies around the globe. The ADI software licensing system has since been decommissioned.
Avaya Holdings Corporation, a multinational business communications company headquartered in California, sold a product called IP Office, a telephone system used by many midsize and small businesses in the United States and abroad. To enable additional functionality of IP Office, such as voicemail or telephones, customers had to purchase software licenses – which Avaya generated – from an authorized Avaya distributor or reseller. Avaya used software license keys to control access to Avaya’s copyright-protected software and to ensure that only customers who paid for the software could use it. In addition, Avaya required that each software license on an IP Office system be associated with the system’s Avaya Secure Digital (SD) card – a small flash memory card with a unique serial number that plugged into the IP Office manager computer – which the end user had to keep in its possession in order to use the licenses.
Hines operated Direct Business Services International (DBSI), formerly known as Dedicated Business Systems International, a New Jersey-based business communications systems provider and a de-authorized Avaya reseller. He bought ADI software license keys from Brad and Dusti Pearce under his own name and also using an alias, Joe Brown, and then sold them to resellers and end users around the globe. Brad Pearce, a long-time customer service employee at Avaya, allegedly used his system administrator privileges to generate those keys without authorization, creating tens of thousands of them that he sold to Hines and other customers. Brad Pearce’s wife, Dusti Pearce, is alleged to have handled accounting for the illegal business. Hines was by far the Pearces’ largest customer, buying over 55% of the stolen licenses, and significantly influenced how the scheme operated. In fact, Hines was one of the biggest users of the ADI license system in the world. As a result, Hines reaped millions of dollars from the fraud.
Hines pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud. As part of the plea agreement, the United States has agreed not to advocate for more than 5 years in prison, and Hines must forfeit a money judgment of at least $2 million as well as make full restitution to his victims. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia E. Barry and William Farrior for the Western District of Oklahoma and Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.
Business Owner Pleads Guilty in Massive International Scheme to Sell Pirated Business Telephone System Software LicensesRead the Press Release
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today in the Western District of Oklahoma to participating in a massive international scheme to make millions of dollars by selling pirated business telephone system software licenses. The entire scheme allegedly resulted in the sale of software licenses with a retail value of over $88 million.
According to court documents, Jason M. Hines, aka Joe Brown, aka Chad Johnson, aka Justin Albaum, 43, of Caldwell, conspired with co-defendants Brad Pearce and Dusti Pearce – who jointly used the identity “Terri Jenkins” – to commit wire fraud. The scheme involved generating and then selling unauthorized Avaya Direct International (ADI) software licenses, which were used to unlock features of a popular telephone system used by thousands of companies around the globe. The ADI software licensing system has since been decommissioned.
Avaya Holdings Corporation, a multinational business communications company headquartered in California, sold a product called IP Office, a telephone system used by many midsize and small businesses in the United States and abroad. To enable additional functionality of IP Office, such as voicemail or telephones, customers had to purchase software licenses – which Avaya generated – from an authorized Avaya distributor or reseller. Avaya used software license keys to control access to Avaya’s copyright-protected software and to ensure that only customers who paid for the software could use it. In addition, Avaya required that each software license on an IP Office system be associated with the system’s Avaya Secure Digital (SD) card – a small flash memory card with a unique serial number that plugged into the IP Office manager computer – which the end user had to keep in its possession to use the licenses.
Hines operated Direct Business Services International (DBSI), formerly known as Dedicated Business Systems International, a New Jersey-based business communications systems provider and a de-authorized Avaya reseller. He bought ADI software license keys from Brad and Dusti Pearce under his own name and also using an alias, Joe Brown, and then sold them to resellers and end users around the globe. Brad Pearce, a long-time customer service employee at Avaya, allegedly used his system administrator privileges to generate those keys without authorization, creating tens of thousands of them that he sold to Hines and other customers. Brad Pearce’s wife, Dusti Pearce, is alleged to have handled accounting for the illegal business. Hines was by far the Pearces’ largest customer, buying over 55% of the stolen licenses, and significantly influenced how the scheme operated. In fact, Hines was one of the biggest users of the ADI license system in the world. As a result, Hines reaped millions of dollars from the fraud.
Hines pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. As part of the plea agreement, the United States has agreed not to advocate for more than five years in prison. The court has not yet set a sentencing date. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Hines must forfeit a money judgment of at least $2 million as well as make full restitution to his victims. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma, and Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia E. Barry and William Farrior for the Western District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.
Bristol Man Charged with Interstate Threatening and Stalking OffensesRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bristol Police Chief Brian Gould today announced that DENNIS JOHN HERNANDEZ, also known as “DJ Hernandez” and “Jonathan Hernandez,” 37, of Bristol, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with interstate threatening and stalking offenses.
As alleged in the complaint, on July 6 and 7, 2023, Hernandez communicated with an individual via Facebook Messenger and made multiple statements threatening to carry out a shooting incident at UConn. The statements included “I would recommend remaining away from there because when I go I’m taking down everything And don’t give a f--- who gets caught in the crossfire. I’ve died for years now and now it’s others people turn. I’m prepared to give my life. So if I don’t get to see you on the outside know I love you always Not all shootings are bad I’m realizing. Some are necessary for change to happen.”
It is alleged that Hernandez’s vehicle was identified on UConn’s campus on July 7.
The complaint also alleges that, on July 18 and 19, 2023, Hernandez made multiple Facebook posts threatening to harm or kill three individuals who reside out of state. In addition, on July 19, in a conversation via text message with one of the victims, Hernandez stated “We’re taking lives if s--- isn’t paid up. It’s been years in planning just taking notes, names and locations. They talked their way into this and it’s almost point game. I know we don’t play in my family. If we have to take lives or buildings we will. So just letting you know so you can be prepared for a media circus one way or another.”
The complaint charges Hernandez with transmitting interstate communications containing a threat to injure, and with interstate stalking. Each charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Hernandez has been detained in state custody on related charges since July 19. He appeared this afternoon Hartford federal court.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that a criminal complaint is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bristol Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.
Boston Man Previously Convicted of Sex Trafficking to Plead Guilty to Witness IntimidationRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Boston man has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to attempting to prevent a witness whom he allegedly exposed himself to from testifying against him in a federal proceeding.
Mark Pinnock, 32, had been charged with one count of witness intimidation. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.
According to the charging documents, in 2014, Pinnock was sentenced to eight years in prison for a sex trafficking offense. In 2022, Pinnock was released and under federal supervision while working as an Amazon driver. It is alleged that in July 2022, while Pinnock was on supervised release for his 2014 sex trafficking conviction, a victim reported to local law enforcement that Pinnock allegedly exposed his penis to her while delivering a package to the condominium complex where the victim worked as a custodian. As a result, the U.S. Probation Office sought to revoke Pinnock’s term of supervised release and the Court scheduled a hearing to adjudicate Pinnock’s alleged offense.
It is alleged that one week before the hearing, Pinnock sent a co-conspirator to the condominium complex on his behalf. The co-conspirator allegedly told the victim not to go to Court and stood with his hand in his pocket as if he had something in it. Pinnock also allegedly used an encrypted messaging application to send an anonymous message to the security officer at the complex to “let the cleaning lady know” she would be arrested by immigration officials if she were to go to court. Finally, Pinnock placed three separate phone calls to immigration officials in an attempt to have the victim detained for being unlawfully present in the United States. Pinnock falsely claimed to ICE, among other things, that he had heard the victim was gang-affiliated.
The charge of witness intimidation provides a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. The Brockton Police provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Anoka Man Sentenced to Prison for Possession of a Machine Gun and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL, Minn. – An Anoka man was sentenced to 77 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release for illegal possession of a machine gun and distribution of methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in the spring of 2022, the FBI began investigating Darrian Mitchell Nguyen, 50, based on a tip from a Confidential Human Source (CHS) that Nguyen was in possession of explosive devices, firearms, and methamphetamine, and had expressed a desire to join the Three Percenter militia group, a loosely organized anti-government extremist movement. According to the CHS, Nguyen kept weapons, including rifles, shotguns, handguns, and pipe bombs, in “secret” rooms built within the walls of his residence. Nguyen was also manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine from his residence. On August 23, 2022, during a meeting at the defendant’s residence, Nguyen sold the CHS 7.1 grams of methamphetamine for $300.
According to court documents, to correct a debt owed to the defendant, Nguyen asked the CHS to provide him with firearms, specifically a short-barreled rifle equipped with an auto sear. Through text messages, Nguyen arranged to meet with the CHS to receive four auto sears and a short-barreled rifle equipped with an auto sear. At the arranged meeting on October 4, 2022, after Nguyen took possession of the machine gun and the auto sears, law enforcement arrested Nguyen and executed a search warrant at his residence. Law enforcement recovered the auto sears and machine gun, as well as an additional 22 firearms from a hidden room inside the residence, including an unregistered short-barreled shotgun.
Nguyen pleaded guilty on March 20, 2023, to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession of a machine gun. Nguyen was sentenced yesterday before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Winter and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda M. Sertich.
Albany County Man Pleads Guilty to Failing to Update His Residential Address with the New York State Sex Offender RegistryRead the Press Release
ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jason Burnash, age 43, of Albany County, New York, pled guilty today to failing to update his sex offender residential address information with the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”). United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and David L. McNulty, United States Marshal for the Northern District of New York, made the announcement.
Burnash was required to register as a sex offender because of his federal conviction in 2012 in the Northern District of New York for receiving child pornography. Burnash admitted during his guilty plea that, between December 24, 2022, and March 1, 2023, he failed to advise the sex offender registry of a change in his residential address.
In addition to his guilty plea to failure to update his registration information as a sex offender, Burnash also admitted today that his conduct violated the terms of supervised release imposed after his 2012 conviction.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 27, 2023, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci. For the SORNA offense, Burnash faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of between five years and up to life to begin upon his release from prison. Burnash may also receive additional sanctions for violating the terms of his supervised release. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The United States Marshals Service is investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss is prosecuting the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
Thursday 27 July 2023
Whitley County Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Federal Murder ConvictionRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. - A Woodbine, Ky., man, Daniel Scott Nantz, 33, was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier, for the first-degree murder of a federal witness, Geri D. (Bays) Johnson.
According to the investigation and plea agreement, Nantz was engaged in multiple methamphetamine trafficking conspiracies throughout Whitley, Knox, and Laurel Counties, from March of 2017 through March of 2019. In the Spring of 2019, some of Nantz’s methamphetamine sources of supply and co-conspirators were charged in federal indictments . One such co-conspirator was Ms. Johnson. Nantz began to grow increasingly concerned that he too would be charged in an indictment.
Prior to the murder, Nantz learned that Johnson had cooperated with law enforcement. Nantz discussed his fears regarding Ms. Johnson’s potential continued cooperation with multiple witnesses, as well as Ms. Johnson herself. At the sentencing hearing, multiple witnesses testified to observing Nantz becoming increasingly violent towards Ms. Johnson, including witnessing Nantz shoot at Ms. Johnson. On March 13, 2019, Nantz texted Ms. Johnson “I’ll kill you [expletive].” On March 14, 2019, Nantz texted Ms. Johnson, “Your very dangerous for me. Very very dangerous.” Then, on the morning of March 16, 2019, Nantz told a witness “Geri is talking to the feds. I think she is telling. If so, I’ll just kill her.” Afterwards, a note, handwritten by Nantz, was recovered from the murder scene, which read “Funeral/fed’s pulled [redacted name] and geri out asking questions.”
Ultimately, on the afternoon of March 16, 2019, Nantz left an armed kidnapping that he was participating in to return to his secluded trailer in Steele Hollow. Ms. Johnson was at Nantz’s residence watching his two minor children and desperately attempting to find a ride out of the area. Text messages from Ms. Johnson’s phone show that she begged two friends for a ride from Nantz’s residence, and even asked Nantz himself for a ride away from the residence.
After he arrived at the residence, Nantz fired the first round at Ms. Johnson in the master bedroom of his trailer. Then, Nantz ordered his children into their bedroom and Ms. Johnson fled outside with her belongings. Nantz followed Ms. Johnson outside into the driveway, where he shot her in the back through her shoulder, with a stolen .38 special revolver. Ms. Johnson continued to flee from the trailer, when Nantz fired a third round that pierced her neck. A blood trail of approximately 127 feet established Ms. Johnson’s attempt to flee. The autopsy revealed the round through Ms. Johnson’s neck ultimately caused her to asphyxiate on her blood. Ms. Johnson was approximately 33 weeks pregnant at the time.
After the shooting, Nantz drove Ms. Johnson’s body back to the kidnapping site, to pickup a friend. Nantz then held up Ms. Johnson’s body while his friend drove the pair back to Nantz’s trailer. Once back at his trailer, Nantz instructed his friend to “get the DVRs.” Multiple witnesses testified that Nantz had a surveillance system connected to a DVR box that would have captured the front driveway where the murder occurred. After instructing his friend on the DVRs, Nantz finally called 911 and started the drive from his residence to Baptist Health Hospital in Corbin, Kentucky. Ms. Johnson was pronounced dead at the hospital. Ms. Johnson’s daughter, Amelia Jo Johnson, was born via emergency Cesarean section, at approximately 33 weeks gestation. Amelia passed away on March 19, 2019, due to brain damage caused by severe oxygen and blood deprivation due to her mother’s injuries.
Nantz received sentencing enhancements for obstructing justice post-murder, for the destruction of the DVR(s), and for murdering a vulnerable victim, a woman in her third trimester.
“The conduct in this case was truly appalling, and certainly warranted the life sentence imposed,” said Carlton S. Shier, IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “In a disgraceful choice, Daniel Nantz elected to protect his illegal drug trafficking operation and self-interests, over the lives of two people – his girlfriend and her daughter. This brutal act of cruel self-importance underscores how violent and serious the illegal methamphetamine trade has become. I am hopeful that this sentence will provide some measure of justice to the victims and their family; and I want to commend the outstanding work of our law enforcement partners, whose dedicated efforts made this conviction and sentence possible.”
“Today, Daniel Nantz was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in federal prison for murdering Geri Johnson, who was pregnant,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow. “We are pleased with the life sentence. Our hope is it brings some sense of justice to her loved ones and sends a message that Kentucky law enforcement is committed to seeking justice for crimes against innocent victims. I want to commend the ATF London Office, Kentucky State Police, prosecutors, and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly on this case.”
United States Attorney Shier; ATF SAC Morrow; and Commissioner Phillip Burnett, Kentucky State Police, jointly announced the sentencing.
The investigation was conducted by the ATF and KSP. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenna E. Reed.
This case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program (PSN), which is a nationwide, crime reduction strategy aimed at decreasing violent crime in communities. It involves a comprehensive approach to public safety — one that includes investigating and prosecuting crimes, along with prevention and reentry efforts. In the Eastern District of Kentucky, U.S. Attorney Shier coordinates PSN efforts in cooperation with various federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
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Waterbury Man Pleads Guilty to Gun Possession ChargeRead the Press Release
Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that TYREESE FERRUCCI, 31, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in Bridgeport to unlawful possession of firearms by a felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 5, 2022, in connection with a drug trafficking investigation, Waterbury Police conducted a court-authorized search of a residence on Fieldwood Road that was suspected of being used to store, process, and package narcotics. Ferrucci was arrested at that location after he was found in possession of two loaded Glock 9mm handguns.
Ferrucci’s criminal history includes state conviction for drug and firearm offenses. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
At sentencing, which is not scheduled, Ferrucci faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years. Ferrucci has been detained since his arrest.
This investigation is being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Waterbury Police Department and Connecticut State Police.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth through Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Virginia Beach Man Sentenced for Large-Scale Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 248 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, on October 13, 2021, Christian Gage Puente, 29, and his co-conspirator, Carlos Santos-Navarro, 25, a Honduran national, distributed approximately 7.8 kilograms of methamphetamine to Candice Rountree, 43, of Virginia Beach, and Alidavid Williams, 42, of Virginia Beach, at a hotel on Crossways Boulevard in Chesapeake. Later that same day, Virginia Beach Police officers conducted a traffic stop of Rountree’s vehicle in which Williams and Rountree were traveling on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach. During the stop, Williams attempted to flee, resulting in Roundtree’s vehicle rolling backward, pinning a Virginia Beach Police detective between Rountree’s Dodge Ram pickup truck and a police vehicle and seriously injuring his right leg. Detectives with the Virginia Beach Police Department and special agents and task force officers with Homeland Security Investigations discovered the distributed drugs during a search of Rountree’s vehicle following the traffic stop.
The following day, October 14, 2021, when Puente and Santos-Navarro arrived at a hotel in the 2900 block of Shore Drive in Virginia Beach to collect the proceeds from the sale of methamphetamine, they were detained by Virginia Beach Police detectives. Upon observing the approaching officers, Puente tossed a loaded caliber .38 Special revolver into a bush. Puente then fought with the officers while he was being detained. After he was placed in handcuffs, the police discovered approximately $4,725 in cash on Puente’s person. During a search of Santos-Navarro’s person, the police discovered a loaded 9mm pistol. During a search of Puente’s vehicle, the police discovered a shoebox containing approximately 890 grams of methamphetamine and a digital scale.
Co-defendants Candice Rountree and Alidavid Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and were sentenced to 36 months and 200 months in prison respectively. Co-defendant Carlos Santos-Navarro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and was sentenced to 180 months.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-15.
United States Attorney’s Office to Attend Community Events During National Night OutRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE - The U.S. Attorney’s Office will join community organizers, neighbors, and law enforcement partners to participate in National Night Out events on August 1, 2023. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will join Project Safe Neighborhoods partners at events in Providence, Pawtucket, Warwick, Central Falls, and Woonsocket.
“This program is an example of the ways that law enforcement partners with our communities to build relationships, support neighborhoods, and reaffirm our shared commitment of working together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our cities and towns,” said U.S. Attorney Cunha. “This office is proud to support our communities and our law enforcement colleagues as part of this great event.”
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes partnerships and camaraderie between law enforcement and the communities they serve to make our neighborhoods safer places to live. Millions take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities throughout the country on the first Tuesday of August in most areas of the country.
National Night Out was established in 1984 with funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice. The program is administered by the National Association of Town Watch, a nationwide non-profit organization.
Coordinated by local law enforcement and trained volunteers, National Night Out provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances. Neighborhoods host block parties, cookouts, festivals, parades, safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, and more. National Night Out sends a message that neighbors are united and working together to keep their communities and each other safe.
For more information, visit https://natw.org/.
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U.S. Settles Lawsuit Alleging Medical Staffing and Services Companies Defrauded Medicare by Submitting Claims Under the Names of Doctors Who Did Not Perform the ServicesRead the Press Release
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Naomi Gruchacz, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), announced today that the United States has filed and settled a civil fraud lawsuit against ADVANCED HEALTH PARTNERS, INC., f/k/a “Medicom Management Services, Inc.”; MEDEXCEL USA, INC.; MEDEXCEL EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN SERVICES OF YONKERS, PLLC (“MEPSY”); and TRI-STATE EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS, PLLC (collectively the “Defendants”). This settlement resolves a lawsuit under the False Claims Act alleging that the Defendants submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare using the names and identifying information of physicians who did not perform or supervise the medical services claimed and, in many cases, were no longer employed by the Defendants.
Under the terms of the settlement approved today by U.S. District Judge Nelson S. Román, the Defendants admitted and accepted responsibility for their conduct and agreed to pay $475,000 in damages to the United States.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Advanced Health Partners, working with Medexcel, fraudulently billed Medicare on behalf of MEPSY and Tri-State at significant cost to taxpayers. This settlement holds these entities accountable both through the monetary payment and the detailed admissions they have made.”
HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz said: “Providers that conceal or fail to submit accurate billing information can affect individuals who depend on Medicare funding for access to safe and effective health care services. The laws are meant to preserve the integrity of program funds and the provision of appropriate, quality services to patients. Our agency collaborates frequently with our law enforcement partners to investigate providers alleged to undermine our federal health care programs by submitting fraudulent claims, thus violating the False Claims Act.”
As part of the settlement, the Defendants admit, acknowledge, and accept responsibility for the following conduct:
- Between 2007 and 2017 (the “Covered Period”), MEPSY and TRI-STATE provided clinical staff to operate emergency departments at various hospitals in or around the Southern District of New York (the “Emergency Departments”).
- During the Covered Period, ADVANCED HEALTH PARTNERS submitted claims to the Medicare program (the “Subject Claims”) for professional services rendered at the Emergency Departments by physicians or other clinical staff employed by MEPSY and TRI-STATE.
- MEDEXCEL provided management services to MEPSY and TRI-STATE. Additionally, MEDEXCEL provided back-office support and guidance to ADVANCED HEALTH PARTNERS concerning its billing practices, including, in some instances, by directing which physician’s National Provider Identification number (“NPI”) to use to bill for specific services.
- During the Covered Period, several thousand of the Subject Claims used the NPIs of physicians who did not render or supervise the services in question, rather than the NPIs of the physicians who had actually rendered or supervised the services. Specifically, ADVANCED HEALTH PARTNERS, who received billing guidance from MEDEXCEL, used the NPIs of physicians who previously had been, but were no longer, employed by MEPSY or TRI-STATE.
- Defendants MEPSY and TRI-STATE received substantial reimbursement from Medicare to which they were not entitled as a result of these claims, and ADVANCED HEALTH PARTNERS and MEDEXCEL caused Medicare to make these unwarranted payments.
In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act.
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Mr. Williams thanked HHS-OIG for its assistance.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter M. Aronoff and Jacob M. Bergman are in charge of the case.
U.S. v. Advanced Health Partners et al Complaint U.S. v. Advanced Health Partners et al SettlementU.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz Delivers Remarks for DOJ Pattern or Practice Investigation of the City of Memphis and the Memphis Police DepartmentRead the Press Release
Remarks as Delivered
Good morning.
I want to thank Assistant Attorney General Clarke for coming here to Memphis to continue what I believe is a crucial, community-wide conversation about civil rights in our city.
This morning, Assistant Attorney General Clarke and I met with the Mayor, the Chief of Police, and other City of Memphis officials to discuss what this pattern or practice investigation would entail. I want to say that our office will be a partner with the Civil Rights Division during this investigation.
As we proceed, we are committed to engaging in a conversation with people across the entire city to answer questions and let the community know what they can expect. This includes residents, community groups, police officers, city officials, and faith and civil rights leaders.
Here’s the thing: public safety requires public trust in law enforcement. The police officers who risk their lives every day in the line of duty need the public to trust them. Community trust makes policing more effective and less dangerous for both officers and the people they protect.
To build and maintain that trust, law enforcement must conduct themselves constitutionally and lawfully. Citizens, including the people of this great city, deserve constitutional and lawful policing.
In my 18 years as a federal prosecutor here in Memphis, I’ve had the opportunity to work with public servants and community leaders who are dedicated to addressing the root causes of crime in our city – people who understand that as government, our first responsibility is to protect our citizens. That means to protect them from crime, and it also means to protect their civil rights.
I want to be clear: while the pattern or practice investigation is underway, you can still expect our team of federal prosecutors to continue to take on tough cases – whether those involve violent crime, drug trafficking, illegal guns, national security, hate crimes, or holding people in authority accountable.
That work will continue, and we will continue to partner with law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local level to vigorously enforce the criminal laws. That’s a core piece of the Department’s mission.
It is also a core piece of the Department’s mission to ensure that the constitutional and federal statutory rights of all people are protected. Pattern or practice investigations help us fulfill that responsibility. This civil pattern or practice investigation is and will remain separate from our office’s criminal investigations and prosecutions.
It is also separate from the technical assistance being provided by the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS Office. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta announced in March that the COPS Office, through its Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center, would be providing technical assistance related to MPD’s use of force and de-escalation practices, as well as its use of specialized units. That work will continue in the immediate term while the separate pattern or practice investigation is ongoing.
As I’ve said often, in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, my colleagues and I uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep Americans safe. That work is predicated on the principle that there is only one rule of law. There can’t be one rule of law for the powerful and another for the powerless. There can’t be one rule of law for the rich and another for the poor. And there can’t be one rule of law for people who look like me and another for people of color.
And as much as I believe most of our partners in law enforcement work diligently and bravely under that same guiding principle, we as a community cannot afford to be silent if there are those who aren’t upholding that standard.
And so, I welcome this opportunity to let the facts lead in what I know will be an ongoing and important discussion about civil rights in our city. Together we can build a stronger Memphis—a Memphis that protects the safety and civil rights of all.
Tucson Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Child Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
TUCSON, Ariz. – Eric David Marrufo, 43, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to life in prison. Marrufo was convicted of five counts of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child and one count of Abusive Sexual Contact With a Child.
A jury convicted Marrufo on August 19, 2022, of sexually abusing the victims at his home on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation between August 1, 2006, and August 1, 2008. Marrufo is a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pascua Yaqui Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew C. Cassell and Rui Wang, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-17-0976-TUC-CKJ-EJM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2023-113_Marrufo# # #
For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.Three Fresno County Residents Indicted for Conspiracy to Sell 6.5 Pounds of Fentanyl Pills and 30 Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Gilberto Arteaga, 41, of Fresno; Juan Castro, 48, of Sanger; and Shannon Calhoun, 53, of Sanger, charging them with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in the spring of 2023, law enforcement began investigating Arteaga for suspicion of trafficking fentanyl. The investigation revealed a connection between Arteaga and a car owned by Calhoun that had made several, same day, quick trips into Mexico and back to California. On July 15, 2023, Calhoun’s car crossed into Mexico and then hours later back into California. The next day, agents observed Calhoun’s car next to Arteaga’s car in Fresno. Both cars were stopped and searched. Inside Calhoun’s car, officers found a bag with about 30,000 fentanyl pills and 30 pounds of methamphetamine. Arteaga, Castro, and Calhoun were all arrested.
This case is the product of an investigation by FORT (a multi-agency team composed of Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Fresno Police Department, and the Clovis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin J. Gilio is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years up to a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case is part of Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge (S.O.S.) a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids in high impact areas as well as identifying wholesale distribution networks and international and domestic suppliers. In July 2018, the Justice Department announced the creation of S.O.S., which is being implemented in the Eastern District of California and nine other federal districts.
Third Defendant Sentenced for His Role in Scheme to Commit Postal Money Order and Bank FraudRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Alabama – Today, United States Attorney Sandra J. Stewart announced the sentencing of a third defendant involved in a money order and bank fraud scheme. On July 25, 2023, a judge sentenced Damion Lavar Stowes, Jr., 25, from Montgomery, Alabama, to 60 months in prison. Previously, two other co-defendants were sentenced for their parts in the conspiracy. On April 10, 2023, Calvin Darius Franklin, Jr., 29, a resident of Blue Island, Illinois, received a sentence of 45 months. Then, on May 1, 2023, a judge imposed a 24-month sentence for Jyria Ye’Vae Barnes, 23, also from Montgomery. Before their sentencing hearings, Stowes, Franklin, and Barnes each pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit U.S. Postal money order and bank fraud.
According to their plea agreements and other court records, Stowes, Franklin, Barnes, and others, bought U.S. Postal Service money orders for around $1 in states throughout the southeast, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee. They then altered the money orders to reflect higher amounts, most often $1,000. The three recruited people via social media applications to provide bank account information and used the recruits’ accounts to cash the altered money orders. Stowes, Franklin, and Barnes then split the profits amongst themselves. In addition, Stowes, Franklin, and Barnes also cashed and caused to be cashed multiple forged checks in the Montgomery area, again recruiting people via social media to cash the forged checks and splitting the profits. When sentencing all three defendants, the judge determined that the amount of actual loss from their scheme was approximately $94,574 and ordered restitution in that amount. However, based on money orders and checks recovered during the investigation before they were cashed, the potential loss amount was more than $500,000.
“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to identifying and prosecuting individuals who exploit our financial system for their own profit,” stated United States Attorney Stewart. “I applaud the Postal Inspection Service for preventing a greater loss to the American taxpayers and holding the defendants accountable.”
“Postal Inspectors will never tolerate anyone defrauding the Postal Service or its customers," said Inspector-in-Charge Scott Fix with the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Houston Division. “The sentences handed down to Franklin, Barnes and Stowes should serve as a reminder to other perpetrators engaged in this type of criminal behavior that we will work diligently to bring them to justice.”
A fourth defendant, also from Montgomery, Milon Jaclarius Moss, 26, pleaded guilty to bank fraud earlier this year and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 23, 2023.
The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this case, which Assistant United States Attorney Joel Feil is prosecuting.
Ten MS-13 Members and Associates Indicted for Gang-Related Murders and RacketeeringRead the Press Release
FRESNO, Calif. — A seven-count superseding indictment was unsealed today, charging 10 MS‑13 members and associates with a RICO conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
“When reports surfaced that MS-13 had established a presence in the City of Mendota in the Central Valley, a multi-agency investigation was launched,” U.S. Attorney Talbert said. “Today’s announcement is a direct result of the arrests in 2018 of 25 individuals on federal and state charges in connection with their Mara Salvatrucha (MS‑13) gang activities. One of the highest priorities of my office and of the federal law enforcement agencies we work with is to partner with the police departments, sheriffs’ offices, and district attorneys in our district to reduce violent crime.”
According to court documents, the following defendants named in the indictment are alleged members and associates of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), a violent criminal street gang: Martin Alfredo Leiva-Leiva, 43, of Richmond; Juan Carlos Urias-Torres, 34, of Stockton; Angel Antonio Diaz-Morales, 32, of Salinas; Jose Rene Barrera-Martinez, 34, of Mendota; Luis Fausino Diaz-Pineda, 28, of Mendota; Angel Antonio Castro-Alfaro, 29, of Mendota; Jose Joaquin Amaya-Orellana, 31, of Mendota; Julio Cesar Recinos-Sorto, 28, of Leesburg, Virginia; Jose Armando Torres-Garcia, 27, of El Salvador; and Jose Santos Hernandez-Otero, 29, of El Salvador. The criminal organization’s members and associates engage in acts of violence, including acts involving murder, extortion, kidnapping, assault, and other crimes often with the purpose of intimidating rival gang members, victims of extortion, and members of the community, and to protect their “turf” and fellow gang members.
MS-13
According to court documents, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha) was formed in Los Angeles in the mid 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants and is known for committing brutal acts of violence against rival gang members and nongang members. MS-13 in Los Angeles is beholden to the Mexican Mafia, which is a criminal organization that united Hispanic gang members under a single alliance operating within the California state prison system, the streets and suburbs of large cities throughout Southern California, and elsewhere.
MS-13 has a self-imposed code of conduct to enforce and maintain compliance among its members. MS-13 also adopts and enforces the Mexican Mafia’s rules. MS-13 has zero tolerance for members and associates who cooperate with law enforcement. Once MS-13 has evidence that someone has cooperated with law enforcement, MS-13 issues a “green light” as to that person, which is an order that if any MS-13 member sees the person who is allegedly or actually cooperating with law enforcement, that person is to be killed on sight. MS-13 members also engage in acts of violence against innocent citizens and rival gang members in their territory.
Participation in violent acts increases the respect accorded to members who commit violent acts. Additionally, commission of violent acts by MS-13 members enhances the gang’s overall reputation for violence in the community, resulting in the intimidation of citizens in MS-13’s territory.
MS-13 in Fresno County
Since 2015, there are more than 14 homicides alleged to be related to MS-13 in Mendota. These homicides are alleged to be related to MS-13 for a variety of reasons that include: the locations where the homicide victims were recovered (in and around Mendota), the association between the homicide victims and known MS-13 gang members, and the cause of death or condition the homicide victims have been found, including gruesome attacks caused by machetes, a weapon commonly used by MS‑13 gang members.
The MS-13 subsets operating in Mendota have a direct connection to, and originate from, MS‑13 from Los Angeles. Investigators allege that the individuals charged in the indictment were associated with a Mara Salvatrucha subset in Mendota known as Vatos Locos Salvatruchos (VLS).
Murder of an adult male on Jan. 26, 2016
Leiva-Leiva and Diaz-Morales are charged with the murder of an adult male on Jan. 26, 2016, in San Benito County for the purpose of gaining entrance and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13.Murder of an adult female on July 13, 2016
Leiva-Leiva and Urias-Torres are charged with the murder in Fresno County of an adult female that occurred on July 13, 2016, for the purpose of gaining entrance and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13.Murder of an adult female and an adult male on Oct. 30, 2016
Leiva-Leiva, Hernandez-Otero, Torres-Garcia, Amaya-Orellana, and Recinos-Sorto are charged with murdering an adult female and an adult male on Oct. 30, 2016, in Fresno County for the purpose of gaining entrance and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13.Murder of an adult male in January 2017
Leiva-Leiva, Barrera-Martinez, Diaz-Pineda, and Angel Antonio Castro-Alfaro are charged with the January 2017 murder of an adult male in Fresno County for the purpose of gaining entrance and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13.Murder of an adult female on Dec. 13, 2017
Leiva-Leiva and Urias-Torres are charged with the murder of an adult female on Dec. 13, 2017, for the purpose of gaining entrance and maintaining and increasing position in MS-13.“MS-13 gang members prey upon the communities they live in, committing the most heinous, violent acts against their victims. The streets of the Central Valley and surrounding communities are safer when criminal gang members are arrested and held to account for their crimes,” said HSI San Francisco Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. “I’m proud of HSI’s exhaustive investigative work, together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Justice, and the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of California, in bringing these subjects to justice.”
“The FBI is deeply committed to leveraging all of its assets, both foreign and domestic, in collaboration with our local, state, and federal partners to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that threaten the communities we serve. Every family deserves to live in a community free of fear and gang violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. “We also need the public to come forward with information to help us all in that mission. Never suffer in silence; law enforcement can and will help ensure justice for victims and safer communities for all.”
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, in partnership with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the Mendota Police Department, the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, the Los Angeles Police Department Robbery, Homicide Division and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Gang Section (OCGS), the Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), and the Office of International Affairs (OIA) also assisted. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Sanchez and Justin J. Gilio and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of death. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
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 U.S. Department of Justice 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.
Anyone with information on murders committed in the Mendota area 2014-2018, please call the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at 559-600-3111.
leiva-leiva_superseding_indictment.pdfTampa Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Attempting to Have Sex with A 13-Year-Old ChildRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Charlene Honeywell has sentenced Mateus Fernandes Evangelista Da Silva (23, Tampa) to 15 years in federal prison, followed by 20 years of supervised release, for attempting to patronize or solicit a minor for the purpose of engaging in a commercial sex act. Da Silva will be required to register as a sex offender upon release from prison. The court also ordered Da Silva to forfeit a cellular phone, which was used in the offense. Da Silva had pleaded guilty on April 26, 2023.
According to court documents, on October 6, 2021, Da Silva responded to an online sexual advertisement on a website that was initiated as part of an undercover operation by law enforcement to target individuals using the internet for purposes of engaging in commercial sex acts with children. Da Silva indicated to the undercover officer that he wanted to have sex with the minors that were depicted in the advertisement, referring to them as “babies.”
“Human trafficking and the exploitation of children are exceptionally horrific offenses,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristopher Pagitt. “HSI and our law enforcement partners with the St. Petersburg Police Department will continue to aggressively pursue those who target children and attempt to utilize the internet to engage in these acts.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with assistance from the St. Petersburg Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Abigail K. King and former Assistant United States Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell.
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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
St. Louis County Man Who Scammed Home Store for the Second Time Sentenced to 175 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Thursday sentenced a man from St. Louis County, Missouri who committed a $1.6 million credit card fraud scheme to 14 years and seven months in prison.
Michael W. Burrus, 50, was also ordered to repay the money.
Burrus and others obtained stolen information for business customers of Lowe’s, including names, telephone numbers, addresses and credit card account numbers. Burrus used the information to gain access to the credit card accounts of the businesses, applied for additional credit cards and changed the mailing address on the accounts. Burrus then made purchases with the credit cards, all without the knowledge and consent of the 40 business victims. Burrus and others caused a total loss of more than $1.6 million.
Burrus pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud.
It was the second time that Burrus committed the same type of fraud. Burrus is still paying off a total of $335,152 in restitution ordered in a 2017 fraud case involving two other men. Burrus pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud and was sentenced in 2018 to two years in prison. He was on supervised release at the time of his new crime.
“The United States Secret Service will continue to work with our private sector partners to aggressively target individuals and groups who attempt to take advantage of retail business financial systems,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Gibson of the U.S. Secret Service St. Louis Field Office. “I commend the exceptional work of our partners with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and emphasize our agency’s ongoing commitment to combatting fraud at every level.”
“The defendant in this case operated a bank fraud conspiracy for 17 months, bilking 40 businesses out of $1.6 million,” said Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonca who heads the Chicago Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office. “Today’s sentencing sends a message that the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and its law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate such financial crimes in pursuit of justice for victims.”
The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gwen Carroll, Kyle Bateman and Edward Dowd III prosecuted the case.
St. Louis Area Doctor, Office Manager Accused of Health Care FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A doctor who owns multiple urgent care centers in the St. Louis, Missouri area was arrested Thursday on an indictment accusing him and his office manager of committing health care fraud.
Dr. Sonny Saggar, 55, and Renita Barringer, 50, were each indicted Wednesday on one count of conspiracy and eight counts of making false statements related to a health care matter. They were arrested, appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday.
The indictment says Dr. Saggar has owned and operated health care-related businesses, including Downtown Urgent Care LLC, Creve Coeur Urgent Care LLC, and, since about September 2017, St. Louis General Hospital (SLGH). SLGH is an urgent care and primary care clinic with two locations: 916 Olive Street in St. Louis and 13035 Olive Boulevard in unincorporated St. Louis County near Creve Coeur.
Barringer was the office manager of SLGH and was later added to the board of directors.
The indictment says Dr. Saggar, Barringer and others conspired to make false statements to Medicare and Medicaid by billing for services performed by multiple assistant physicians (APs) as if Dr. Saggar had provided those services, even if he was out of town or abroad.
In order to legally provide medical services in Missouri, assistant physicians must be supervised by a physician under a "collaborative practice arrangement" or "CPA" that restricts the AP's ability to provide medical services and limits their practice areas to medically underserved rural or urban areas.
Dr. Saggar promoted SLGH as a "stepping stone" for medical school graduates who had been unable to secure a residency and were ineligible to obtain a standard license to practice medicine. At least 39 APs have worked at SLGH since January 2018, the indictment says.
Dr. Saggar and Barringer recruited physicians to sign up to supervise the APs, falsely telling them that they merely needed to sign blank, undated CPA Verification Forms to fulfill their roles, the indictment says.
The APs often did not receive any training from their supervising physicians, who were not continuously present despite a requirement mandating 120 hours of clinic time together before the APs may practice without the presence of a physician, the indictment says. It also says Dr. Saggar and Barringer discouraged APs from seeking training and supervision from their purported assigned collaborating physicians. The Creve Coeur location was not a medically underserved rural or urban area, making it ineligible for a CPA, the indictment says.
In January of 2022, Dr. Saggar hired a co-conspirator who had been indicted in another case to be the sole collaborating physician at the Creve Coeur location but did not disclose to Medicaid that the co-conspirator was performing services there, the indictment says.
The conspiracy charge and the false statements charge are each punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit are investigating this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric is prosecuting the case.
Spokane Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
Spokane – On July 25, 2023, U.S. Senior District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson sentenced Merced Zamora, 41, of Spokane, Washington, to 240 months in federal prison for Possession with Intent to Distribute 50 Grams of Actual Methamphetamine, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, as well as for Use, Carry, and Possession of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Offense. Zamora was previously convicted, on March 1, 2023, following a multi-day jury trial. Senior Judge Peterson also ordered Zamora to serve an additional ten years on federal supervision after he is released from prison.
According to court documents, Zamora, on January 11, 2019, was the driver of a vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation by a Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Deputy. At the time of the traffic stop, Zamora’s driver’s license was suspended. Following a search of Zamora’s vehicle, two firearms, ammunition, drug paraphernalia, and approximately a half pound of methamphetamine were recovered from inside the car.
Zamora’s trial began on February 27, 2023. After testimony from numerous witnesses, the jury convicted Zamora on March 1, 2023 of all charges.
Following the sentencing, Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, stated, “I am grateful for the dedication of the investigators, agents, and prosecutors, who brought Mr. Zamora to justice. Thanks to their dedication, a dangerous offender, illegal firearms, and deadly drugs have been removed from the Spokane community. We will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to keep our neighborhoods and communities safe and strong.”
This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crime in the Eastern District of Washington and pursue criminal prosecution.
This case was investigated by the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Spokane Regional Safe Streets Task Force, the Spokane Resident Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”), and the Drug Enforcement Administration. This case was prosecuted by Patrick J. Cashman, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.
2:20-CR-00160-RMP-1
Southbridge Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl and CocaineRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Southbridge man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Worcester for conspiring to traffic multiple kilograms of fentanyl and cocaine in Central and Eastern Massachusetts.
Edgardo Ramirez, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. On April 26, 2023, Ramirez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl; and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of p-Fluorofentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 28 grams or more of cocaine base.
Ramirez was indicted in September 2022 along with 21 other co-defendants for their alleged roles in drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) that distributed cocaine and fentanyl throughout the North Shore and Central Massachusetts. It is alleged that the DTO regularly used the United States mail to conduct drug trafficking activities. Specifically, the DTO allegedly obtained large quantities of cocaine through packages mailed from Puerto Rico to addresses used by the DTO and mailed packages containing fentanyl to recipients in Florida and elsewhere. From April to July 2022, Ramirez was responsible for mixing, packaging and transporting fentanyl and cocaine in furtherance of this criminal conspiracy.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service, Massachusetts State Police, Southbridge Police Department, Lawrence Police Department, Essex County Sherriff’s Department and Worcester County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Hassink of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
This investigation 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.
The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
South Louisiana Man Sentenced for CounterfeitingRead the Press Release
LAFAYETTE, La. – Gabriel Bates, 33, of Opelousas, Louisiana, was sentenced today for counterfeiting, announced United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays sentenced Bates to 26 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Bates pleaded guilty to the charge on April 12, 2023.
According to evidence presented to the court, on or about August 24, 2022, officers with the Opelousas Police Department responded to a local donut shop to investigate the reported passing of a suspected counterfeit $20 bill. Through their investigation, law enforcement officers determined that Bates was the individual who passed the counterfeit bill. The United States Secret Service had conducted a separate counterfeit investigation prior to this incident in which Bates was developed as a suspect. Agents were able to secure a search warrant for his residence in Opelousas. On August 29, 2022, officers searched the residence and located and seized numerous counterfeit United States Federal Reserve Notes in denominations of $20 and $100. Bates was subsequently arrested and found to have an additional counterfeit $20 bill and handwritten instructions for manufacturing counterfeit currency in his pocket. The Federal Reserve Notes recovered from Bates’ residence were analyzed and determined to be in fact not genuine.
Bates was interviewed by law enforcement agents after waiving his Miranda rights and admitted that he did manufacture counterfeit United States money and passed those counterfeit notes that he had made in several locations throughout the Opelousas area in an attempt to defraud.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and Opelousas Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Bordelon.
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